Google’s upcoming OS named Android O is out to developers for testing, and the company hopes it addresses the issues that users faced in earlier versions. The official release date is not announced as yet, and what the “O” stands for is also still unknown. Google did release a few details about its next version of Android on Tuesday, however.
How Android O offers better battery life
It is expected that the new software will offer better battery life and a picture-in-picture mode for phones and tablets. Users will also have more control over notifications.
In a blog post, Vice President of Engineering for Android David Burke said, “Building on the work we began in Nougat, Android O puts a big priority on improving a user’s battery life.”
Whenever a user connects the device to a Wi-Fi network or takes a picture, background apps come into action due to “implicit broadcasts,” but the new Android version places a cap on them. So to improve battery life, Google is limiting apps’ ability to perform tasks when they are not in use. An app consumes a lot of battery when running in the background, as it uses location updates, notes CNET.
What else comes in Android O?
Android O also comes with Notification Channels to prevent notification overload. The feature will put them under separate headings for news, sports, music, entertainment, social, etc., and offer individual controls on each category. Going through the notifications will be much easier.
Google is also introducing a new Autofill API that allows a user to use an app to fill in passwords, addresses and more. The search giant is also adding picture-in-picture support for all apps. This will make it easy to get back to what you were doing when you are interrupted while doing something.
Further, Android O will offer high-quality Bluetooth audio codecs, a boon for wireless audio lovers. For apps that need high-performance, low-latency audio, Google has come up with AAudio, a new native API for apps.
“The O Developer Preview includes an updated SDK with system images for testing on the official Android Emulator and on Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, Pixel, Pixel XL and Pixel C devices…..but for now please note that Android Beta is not currently available for Android O,” says Burke.
