Perhaps the most defining feature of the new upgrade is multi-window support.
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The power-saving feature Doze, introduced in Android Marshmallow to save battery when a device is stationary, in N additionally saves battery whenever the screen turns off. In the meantime, Google will push out updates of this Android N Developer Preview to squash bugs, improve its new features, and get feedback ahead of the public release. Android N is available for the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Pixel C and Nexus Player. A consumer version of the preview will become available “as we get closer to a final product”, he noted.
Google may also squeeze the Rich Communications Services (RCS) messaging replacement for the ancient SMS system into Android N. The company bought RCS specialist Jibe in September a year ago, and said it is commited to the next-gen carrier messaging system. At the moment there is no word on when Android N will be released, but Google did state that they are planning on releasing it to OEMs this summer.
“By making it easier for you to try out the developer previews, and giving all of us more time to tweak and iterate, we hope to create a stronger platform that’s fine tuned for you and the billions of people that use Android everyday”, Lockheimer writes.
Beyond the above, it is likely that Google has reserved revealing some gee-whiz features of the upcoming final release of Android N which will be showcased at Google I/O in May. Google usually gives developers, fans a first look at the new OS at its annual I/O developer conference, so this preview comes as a surprise. Google is also trying to figure out how to keep Android appealing, innovative and adept at running fresh on low-end devices in emerging markets, where its biggest growth will come.
The notifications shade on Android N comes with direct reply notifications.
Android N: How can you get the developer preview?
The prospect of a July unboxing for the Nexus 2016 handsets was hinted by Google’s confirmation that Android N preview or beta builds will be provided starting this week, BGR reported.
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It’s also investing more in Project Svetle, an effort to reduce the memory needs of Android so that it can run on a much broader range of devices. If you pull it down farther, you can customize what appears in Quick Settings and where – and a few of them like Battery or Data Saver take you to some inline information instead of dumping you over to the main Settings screen.
