The feature works on both tablets and phones, and looking at screenshots provided by Google, it looks like you’ll be able to resize the apps with a black bar that separates them.
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Only this week almost two-year-old Android Lollipop become Google’s most popular mobile OS version, but the company has now released Android N – it’s latest iteration of the OS – a lot earlier than expected.
With iOS 9 supporting a side-by-side mode (and Google’s Pixel C now on the market as a laptop replacement), it makes sense for Android to offer the same feature too. One of the major features introduced in last year’s Android Marshmallow was Doze, a smart battery-saving mode that helps reduce power consumption by curbing app use when asleep.
One of the most exciting is Project Svelte, which promises to minimize RAM used by system and apps across the range of Android devices in the ecosystem.
The Android Beta program has just kicked off at g.co/androidbeta where once you sign in with your Google account you can register your device to receive the OTA update to Android N. The update brings all the features of the Android N developer preview, but also take your chances with any bugs. As we get closer to a final product, we’ll be inviting consumers to try it out as well ” . This Android N update is available as a developer preview for anyone with a compatible device as well as a willingness to flash the Factory images. By then it’ll have a fancy new name and, with luck, even more features.
It’s been indicated that Android N is going to be named following a favorite chocolate and hazelnut breakfast spread although the most recent variant hasn’t been named.
The preview includes an updated a software development kit with system images for testing on the official Android emulator and on Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, Nexus 9, and Pixel C devices. With Android N, users will be able to launch and use multiple apps right next to each other. Additionally, the notifications in Android N look to be more detail-rich and interactive.
Android N’s support for split-screen (multi-window) viewing will let developers specify a minimum size for windows and allow the creation of a picture-in-picture mode option, according to today’s update on the Android Developers Blog by vice president of engineering Dave Burke. Well, it’s back in Android N, making your smartphone or tablet display that much easier on the eyes in a dark room. Now, as long as you own a relatively new Nexus branded device, you can just download and install the current beta over-the-air.
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The Android N Developer Preview program provides developers with all the things that they need to test and optimize their apps in preparation for the launch of the next version of Android.
