More rumored Android O features surface

[midian182]

There are only two months to go before Google unveils the latest version of its mobile operating system, Android 8.0, at the annual I/O developer conference. There have already been reports of three new smart features arriving in the OS, which Google SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer hinted will be called Oreo. Now, more rumored additions have surfaced.

@dcseifert ? pic.twitter.com/u8nMzjTIO1

— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) February 20, 2017

9to5Google has reported on the new features, though there’s no guarantee they’ll appear in the final version of Android 8.0. The first change involves the design of notifications. There’s no solid information on what this might be; it could be a simple design change, or a major update that introduces syncing across devices and the presentation of notifications based on preferences and usage (location, time), all powered by machine learning software.

There will also be app icon badges for active notifications, letting you quickly see how many notifications you have for any app straight from the home screen – a feature sorely missing from stock Android. The icons could also become adaptive like those on the Pixel launcher, meaning they can alter their appearance. The calendar app icon, for example, could change each day to show the current date, rather than showing a generic image or number.

Much in the same way that Chrome 57 is reducing power usage by throttling background tabs, it’s thought that Android O will clamp down on the background activities of apps and services to increase a device’s battery life.

A picture-in-picture mode that's currently restricted to Android TV devices running Nougat will be brought to more devices via Android O, letting users watch videos in floating windows while working on other apps.

Finally, 9to5Google says to expect the new OS to ship with lots of MediaRecorder API improvements and more enterprise features. We’ll find out how many of these make it into Android O when it’s unveiled in May.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/68576-more-rumored-android-o-features-surface.html

 

[MoeJoe]

Still no Nougat on so many devices... yet this.

L M A O

 

[Uncle Al]

I wonder if IT will be as tasty when dunked in milk ........

 

[Stingy McDuck]

I wonder if Google will get a cease and desist from Nabisco.

 

[p51d007]

Don't care. I'm still on 6...
My last phone, I ran 4.3 jellybean for almost 2 year before switching to 5.x lollipop
6 is stable, works for how I use it. If I were to buy a new phone after 8 comes out,
then so be it, but the version of android on my phone only has to satisfy a few things.
1. STABILITY.
2. Bluetooth working

 

[psycros]

All I can say for Android 7 is that so far it doesn't appear to be harder to use than the previous version, which is a nice change. Of course I haven't had stock Android since v4.2 so who knows how much is Samsung's fault vs Google's.

 

[Nobina]

I like Android 7.1 but I can only use it if I install custom ROM for my phone. Otherwise, I'm stuck with 5.1. It's so crappy that most of the phones will never get updates. Google should do something about it. What's new Android worth is barely anyone can use it.