LET’S TALK ABOUT ANDROID 7.0 NOUGAT
AT GLANCE!
Android 7.0
Nougat is Google's way of refining what we already have, and adding some
essential features to an operating system they were already happy with.
Since Android 5.0
we've seen how Google was shifting their design language on the phones they
sell themselves and the apps and services that come on your phone. Android
itself has followed this trend, and with Marshmallow we saw a flat but bold
design that tied everything together.
Android Nougat
doesn't make major changes to the way your phone looks or the way it
"feels." But what Google has done under the hood brings some new
features — and much needed polish — to our favourite smartphone operating
system.
- ANDROID NOUGAT MAKES UPDATES FASTER AND EASIER When it's time for your phone or tablet to get updated, you won't have to do anything. While you're doing the things you normally do all the hard work is done in the background — very similar to the upgrade experience on Chrome OS. The only thing you need to do is restart your phone to finish things up.
- MULTI-WINDOW MULTITASKING Sometimes when you're doing two things at once it's handy to be able to see them both at the same time. That's what Multi-window is: more than one "window" on your phone's screen. We've seen a similar feature with the same name from Samsung (and to a lesser extent LG) for a while, but Google has built things in a way that any app will just work, without the developer — or you — doing anything special. The screen will be split 50/50 by default, and it's quick to pull up different apps on the top and bottom on a phone or left and right on a tablet. For devices with larger screens, there's also a freeform mode that let's you change a window's size.
- EVEN BETTER NOTIFICATIONS With Android Nougat, you can reply to your notifications directly from their spot in the tray. You won't have to open the app or install anything extra, either. Once the folks who built your app support the feature, it will just work. Don't worry though. When you need to see more or do more than just send a quick reply, you can still tap the notification to open an app and see everything. And with better bundling of multiple notifications from the same app, you'll be able to tell when you need to see everything even easier.
- YOUR PHONE WILL FEEL FASTER AND USE LESS BATTERY Google's "Project Doze" — its code name for ways to have your phone use less battery while it's not in your hands with the screen on — that was introduced with Marshmallow has gotten a major update in Nougat. While it previously worked great while the phone was sitting still and not plugged in, now it works while it's in your pocket or purse. How it does it hasn't changed much; once your phone's screen has been off for a while, it stops doing things in the background all the time, and instead uses what Google calls "windows" to check for new messages or do things like update your location.
- USING LESS MOBILE DATA Overage charges from your phone company suck. With Android Nougat new tools can help keep them from happening. When you're on a metered connection (one that's not unlimited) — cellular or Wi-Fi — the new Data Saver setting can block background random data usage and restrict things like checking for tweets or emails so that your phone uses less data. You can tell Data Saver to ignore certain apps, and while it's active you'll have an icon in your notifications to let you know what's up.
- MORE HUMAN EMOJI In addition to 72 new glyphs, Android 7.0 has over 1,500 emoji, many of which have been revamped to look a bit more.... human. Traditionally, Android emoji have been cartoony, which has encouraged other manufacturers like Samsung and LG to write their own. More: Nougat changes Android's emoji to look like people
- IMPROVED SECURITY Keeping your data private and personal is important. New features in Android Nougat make things even more secure. When you start your phone, some apps are able to partially work before you sign in with your password or PIN. Things like the actual phone app or your text messages can still come in, your alarm will still work and any accessibility features needed to better interact with your phone can still run. Other apps and their data will remain unavailable and/or encrypted. Once you sign in, everything will work normally. This feature helps keep your data safe if your phone gets lost or stolen, and synergizes well with the remote features of Android Device Manager.
- WHAT IS DIRECT BOOT IN ANDROID NOUGAT? With Android Nougat, you can give an app access to a certain folder (like your picture library) without letting it have access to all of your external (SD card) storage. Only granting permission to the folders an app needs to function is the best practice when it comes to security. Scoped directories does just that. For apps targeted for Android Nougat, the geolocation API is allowed over secure origins (over HTTPS.) This policy is designed to protect users' private information when they're using an insecure connection.
- ANDROID FOR WORK If you use your personal Android phone on the job through a managed system, changes are coming. For us, things will mostly look and act the same — but better tools and easier ways to set things up mean your IT guy might not be so busy (or so grumpy) and everyone's information will be safer and more secure. The things we could see, like not being able to use an app we love on company time or being forced to a certain network, depend on what your company needs and how they have things set up. Be sure to go over any questions with your hopefully less-grumpy IT guy if you have them.
- LANGUAGE AND LOCALE If you have your phone set for a specific region — let's say the French-speaking portion of Switzerland — your phone will now try to use a similar region setting if it can't find a specific match. In our example, that means an app can display text and numerical data for standard French instead of just using the default language settings if Swiss localization wasn't included. You can also select multiple languages (or regionalization of the same language) in an order of importance — if an app you're using is localized for multiple languages you'll see your top pick — if it's set up for one but not all of your languages, it'll pick the highest one it can.
- ANDROID TV RECORDING AND PICTURE-IN-PICTURE Basic DVR functionality is coming to Android TV with 7.0. Besides basic controls like Play or Rewind, you'll be able to save multiple sessions. This means you can schedule recordings or record as you watch. This should be a great feature for Televisions that come with Android TV installed.
- NEW ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES Not all of us are the same and have the same needs. Better accessibility features in Android Nougat make it easier for everyone to be able to use their phone. New ways of zooming in on what you see on your screen or adjusting the size of text make a big difference for folks who need them, and bringing accessibility features like TalkBack and a custom display resolution to the initial setup process means it's easier to get started, too.
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