Google makes Android software available free to device makers.
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Google surprised developers today with early access to Android N, the first time developers have been able to test their apps this early in the development of a new Android build. On phones and tablets running Android N, users will be able to run two apps side by side or one above the other in splitscreen mode.
It’s now easier to bounce between apps – simply double tap the recently used apps button to switch. Picture in picture (PiP) is also coming, along with quick replies, and new bundled notifications. Users can then expand them to read their notifications and dismiss them.
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. With Android N, Doze can also save battery life when a phone screen is turned off.
No one expected Google to unleash Android N so early. Android N will finally put an end to this issue.
The only Nexus device left out from the list is the much older Nexus 5, according to TechCrunch.
There are many other significant improvements in Android N but these are the major ones.
Android N is available now for select Nexus devices (Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player and Pixel C) as an over-the-air download.
The newest version of Android tweaks the notification shade again, this time in a way that’s super useful. Google even shares a handy how-to guide below.
Google is previewing the next version of its Android operating system two months ahead of schedule in an effort to get the upgraded software on more mobile devices.
In his post on Medium, Lockheimer noted that Google has not yet announced a name for Android N. However, his closing remark – “We’re nut telling’ you yet”, suggests the final moniker appears likely to be Nutella, the name for the original hazelnut chocolate spread made by Ferrero.
Eager early adopters can dig into Android N right away, and that’s good for them, but what’s better is that we now know about some new, crowd-pleasing additions that are headed to the popular mobile OS. However, it could also mean that developers can make their apps to run a multi-window interface by default, or choose to control which parts of the app are displayed. And to help you out, we’re making JobScheduler even more capable, so now you can use JobScheduler to react to things like changes to content providers.
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Before the opening of the Android Beta Program developers, and anyone else wanting to grab the current beta version of the latest Android OS, would have to manually download and flash the OS onto their Android devices.
