Android N: release date, news and rumors
Update: The Android N release date is likely to be several months from now, but the first several features of the mobile operating system update are here today. Here’s what we know.
Android N is Google’s phone and tablet operating system update that’s been so thoroughly refined, the company is now more than halfway through the English alphabet.
Now available to download and install in Developer Preview form, it includes new features that didn’t make the cut in November’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow launch alongside the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X.
The shocker is that the company isn’t announcing Android N at its Google IO 2016 conference in May. The reason behind this is it gives developers more time to tinker with the update, according to Google.
That’s fantastic news for anyone who is brave enough to update their phone, tablet or streaming box with the unfinished build. We did just that to tell the rest of you what’s inside.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next version of Google’s mobile OS, Android N
- When is it out? Announced this month, but likely won’t launch until October*
- What will it cost? Free
*when – and if – you get it depends on what phone/tablet you own though
Multi-window support
True multitasking support is finally arriving as expected, and it’s deservedly the highlight of Android N. You’re going to be able to open up two apps at once on your Nexus phone or tablet.
It’s a popular feature Samsung and LG phones have incorporated into their Android skins years ago, so it’s nice (and about time) Google is including the same functionality in its own software.
Working in two apps at once and being able to resize the windows on-the-fly is joined by the ability to view videos in a picture-in-picture mode. YouTube isn’t a waste of time if I’m also working, right?
Multi-window support could increase enterprise interest in Android tablets and the Pixel C. It’s a bet that Apple recently made when it launched a similar split-screen and picture-in-picture feature for iOS 9.
Direct Reply Notifications
You won’t have to navigate away from your current window (or, now, windows) just to answer an incoming message. You can just reply within the notification that appears at the top of the screen.
It worked well enough for the iPhone and iPad when the same idea made its debut with iOS 8 under the name Quick Reply. But Apple’s approach to messages worked strictly with its iMessage app.
Google is opening up Direct Reply Notifications beyond Hangouts, and that could mean popular apps like WhatsApp could take advantage of this convenient inline messaging feature.
New quick settings menu
Google is adding a new quick settings menu to the notifications shade you pull down from the top. It’s a lot like the one Samsung, LG and every other Android manufacturer seems to use.
Sure, Google stock Android software has had switches for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode and so forth, but it required pulling the notifications bar down a second time to reveal the quick settings menu.
Now the quick settings toggles are here as soon as you gesture downward once to see notifications. The best news is that all of the buttons small and unobstructive. It leaves room for notifications to flourish.
Longtime Nexus users will also be happy to hear that the quick settings switches can be sorted to your liking, much like they can on other Android phones. You won’t need the System UI Tuner to meddle.
For example, I often use MiFi more than Airplane Mode, so Mobile Hotspot icon get promoted to be one of the five icons along the top of the initial quick settings on my Nexus 6P.
That little airplane icon is still there for my takeoff and landings needs, but it got the bump to the second swipe menu. Sorting is finally up to you, which is really what Android is all about.
Bundled notifications
Google’s not done with the way Android N changes notifications. It also announced that notification cards will be grouped together if they’re from the same app.
All messages from a specific messaging app, for example, are bundled together in the notification shade. These grouped alerts can then be expanded into individual notifications using a two-finger gesture or tapping the all-new expansion button.
This is basically the opposite of what Apple did in the jump from iOS 8 to iOS 9, switching from grouping them by app to lining them up chronologically. We’ll see which method works best this autumn.
Doze Mode 2.0
One of the (literal) sleeper hits of Android Marshmallow has been Doze Mode, Google’s crafty way of saving battery life whenever your device is stationary. It’s amounts to a deep standby mode.
Android N is going to step up the company’s energy-saving software techniques by expanding Doze Mode so that it thoroughly limits background tasks whenever the screen is turned off.
That’s ideal for throwing a phone in your pocket or your tablet in a backpack, and then retrieving it the next day or next week without having to recharge it right away. Your “I can’t even” face when you pick up your dead Nexus phone the next morning will be a thing of the past.
The Android N name
History has taught us that Android N is going to be named after a delicious treat, but Google hasn’t told us which one it is yet. It usually doesn’t confirm the full name until later in the year.
For now, we’re testing out the Developer Preview on a first-letter basis. It’s very informal. We also don’t exactly know if it’ll be Android 7.0 or not either. It’s currently unclear. Let’s not forget Google’s dabble with the number four with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 4.1/2/3 Jelly Bean and 4.4 KitKat.
It has reverted back to type with 5.0 Lollipop and 6.0 Marshmallow, but Google always has the option to chuck in a curve ball once in awhile.
Android N release date
The official Android N launch date is likely several months away, however, we fully expect to see a new Developer Preview and additional features when Google IO 2016 happens in May.
Google’s annual conference takes place May 18-20, 2016. But then there tends to be several months in between the IO announcement and when the new version of Android actually rolls out.
That means you probably won’t be able to download the final version before October – and even then it’s likely that only Nexus-branded phones and tablets will be able to install it that month.
Your brand new Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge will have to wait. Manufacturer and carrier have to resort of their own version of the update and push it out – and that can take months.
What phones will get Android N?
If you’ve got a recent flagship phone, you should be in luck. Most phone and tablet makers try and push the software to phones and tablets that are less than two years old, but it may be quite a wait.
Each manufacturer can take time to tweak the updates. Take Android Marshmallow for example, some phones still don’t have the update, even though it’s been out for five month… five very long months, as February was 29 days long since it’s not a leap year.
If you want the latest software, it’s best to get a Nexus device, as the newest version of Android will always be pushed to that first. Newer Nexus owners are currently able to test out Developer Preview 1.
Google has stressed that the features involved in this alpha version of Android N are only the beginning. Expect to see more front-facing features at Google IO in May.
Android N: what we want to see
As we’re feeling generous, here at techradar we got together to think of what we’d like to see the new software do. Here’s everything we would like to see come to Google’s OS in Android N.
1. No more bloatware
Google has recently announced a change within the Android rule book. It means phone makers don’t have to include all the G branded apps as standard. Google Play Games, Google Play Books, Google+ and Google Newsstand now don’t need to be included on every phone you use.
Android N would be the perfect time to drop a few of the other less useful apps that Google doesn’t need to force on its owners. Do we all need Google Play Music waiting for us?
2. Faster updates
This is a hard one for Google, but when you look at how Android 6.0 Marshmallow has struggled to get onto phones it would be a worthwhile step. Google needs to streamline the process of getting the latest software onto Android devices.
How it does that, we’re not all that clear – but there must be a way it can make the process slightly simpler for OEM’s to take the latest software and squeeze it onto devices.
3. Real multi-tasking
This is one we’ve heard word of from Google already – but there’s no guarantee from the company that it’ll be launching on the next version of the software.
We’d like to see it come through as soon as possible though as putting this onto the Google Pixel C and upcoming tablets will make productivity tasks a lot easier.
4. Battery improvements
Android 6.0 Marshmallow had a big focus on improving the battery life of your phone with Doze, but the work isn’t done yet. We’d like to see that continue onto the next version of the software.
Google should be working on battery life until it gets to a standard where we can use our phones without having to worry about them dying after a day. Improvements to how the software runs should help the battery life and we’d love to see that come again in Android N.
5. Android Pay improvements
Android Pay is here now, but it’s not the best it can be yet. It’s not all over the world and we’d like to see Android N push the software to new markets. If you could use your phone to pay anywhere around the world, that’d be great.
Plus throwing in all your loyalty cards in a similar way to Apple’s Wallet would be a great step so we can really leave everything else at home.
6. Battery percentage
Surprisingly, you still can’t show off your battery percentage in the notification bar when using stock Android. If you’re able to do so on your phone, it’s just because the manufacturer has seen fit to add it in.
Pretty much all of them have now as well, so we’d like to see Android actually take on the feature itself. And this would be simple for Google to do.
7. A solid name
We want the sweet stuff – Android N needs a good name to make us excited every time it pops up in the over-the-air update box. Seeing something like Android Nutella pop up instead of the boring Android N title is always a good giggle.
Source: techradar.com
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This is the only area i prefer Apple, once a firmware update has been released everyone gets it, with android it takes nearly 2 years for everyone to get, i bet i get it on my Z3 a month before 7.0 comes out and then ill get that in 2019. not good sony, not good samsung, not good htc and the rest of you.
I'm not going to move on from a security breach like that. It's unacceptable, and won't ever be acceptable. You're an Apple apologist, so you're not worth talking to.
You'll be much better of coming to iOS and iPhone, Google has lost control of Android that is clear for all to see.
And they have moved on from it and so should you.
To how many people?
You feel a lot safer because you can't customize the home screen to be more comfortable? That's sad.
Right, because I'd TOTALLY use the ONE company that rips off Apple lol!!!!! That's such a joke! Don't flatter yourself, and your crappy company called Apple. I use a BlackBerry. You know, a real phone. Running Android, with a physical keyboard.
I know I get better value using Apple along with with better support than with anything with Android (except maybe stock but that's still Android), who are Blackberry? Oh that company the used to be all the rage before it was crushed by the iPhone. Blackberry sucks now and nobody cares about thr Blackberry Priv. Apple is worth maybe 30 times what Blackberry is worth, keep your crapberry to yourself, I'm using a real phone while you're using a rehash of an ancient phone. No go and kill yourselve along with your crapberry. Idiot!
Right. Do you know how many times on my iPad that I have to hit the "reload" button vs how few I've had to on my BlackBerry Priv or my Samsung Chromebook? It's about a 10:1 ratio. That's how slow and encumbered that Safari is. Chrome, by comparison is quick and easy to use. Safari is featureless, slow and cumbersome. How quaint that you think that's good. How quaint indeed lol. My Priv is a far better phone than ANY iPhone ever made. Even though I'm using an Snapdragon 808, and not an 810 or 820. What does that say about iOS? It's awful and encumbers the performance of the device.
We have choice, such as Google's Drive, which is integrated, as well as DropBox, Microsoft's OneDrive, and more. You just have the pathetically small iCloud…. which easily gets hacked.
I'm fine with how iOS is as I'm not bothered about customisation and it good because on Android so apps completely change the UI and even your dialler and I don't like that so I'm all for iOS being locked, I feel safer with and I know I'm getting fantastic value with iPhone, football manager runs really well on my 5c compared to my old nexus 6 which matches would take nearly 20 minutes to finish. Basically my 5c puts my old nexus 6 to shame. Thanks to Apple's fantastic optimisation of iOS. NFC was useless until Apple Pay.
For the record, no app I have ever loaded "tried to [take] over [my] phone." Can you explain what you mean? Also, have you ever owned an Android phone and seen this behavior first hand, or are you regurgitating what you read on [insert random website here]? I'm not trying to be a jerk, here, I sincerely would like to know these answers.
You feel safer without options? That's sad. You can't change the way the os behaves, and that's really sad. No one says you have to, but at least I can put an icon where I want one, not where I'm told I have to.
That's only happened once you plonker.
Guess you like the Wi-Fi problems iOS has, the pathetic 16GB models that Apple still sells for some reason, and the fact that iOS is known for having Safari crashes, restart problems, and how the OS doesn't allow you to customize the "springboard" or whatever they call that crappy whack-a-mole app launching system. I can put an icon on the bottom right without filling out every other spot first…. can you? Oh right, you can't.
You do realize that my absolute favorite browser isnt Chrome, and that me being a "fanboy" isn't nearly the delusion that you being one is. BlackBerry has its problems. Android has its problems. BlackBerry 10 had lots of problems. iOS has a lot more than any of those three combined. Just FYI, my favorite browser is Opera, and it's faster than both Chrome and Safari, but Chrome is a close second. Safari is behind the likes of Firefox, which I abhor, and old versions of NETSCAPE.
Except you can't use the stuff you pay for, such as NFC chips. You're only allowed to use it for Apple Pay. I can use my BlackBerry Passport's or Priv's NFC chip, on both BB10 OS and Android. I think we know how you DON'T get what you pay for on iOS in terms of how locked the hardware is.
Exactly it's my choice, on Android a lot of apps try and tar over your phone, and with iOS locked down there is no danger of that happening and I feel a lot safer because of it, I don't give a monkeys about customisation beyond changing my wallpaper and arranging my apps in to folders. It's the same with most iPhone users too it's called choice and opinion.
If you can't move on from this then that's your problem I'm proud to be #teamapple because everything 'just works' better, you're an Android fanboy, like I care less if you talk to me or not. Stick your Android or samsung or whatever Lagdroid you use where the sun don't shine. Moron!
Better value? HA!!!! How much does it take to build an iPhone? $242.50 USD, about for the 6 Plus. Remind me again, how much they charge. Oh yeah, $700 or more.
I don't care what your idiotic fanboy mind thinks about the phones that real professionals, high-discretion employees, government workers across the globe, and security minded people actually use.
A real phone? How? You can't even find out how many times Facebook probes your location. You can't have a unified inbox for your messages. I bet you can't type faster than 20 WPM on the software keyboard. You can't use NFC tags. You can't even tap-to-pair with bluetooth devices. Oh yeah, you don't have a physical keyboard. Finally, the iPhone is a child's toy. Go back to your mom and dad's basement and never come back out. I'm going to flag your comment for what it's worth due to your pathetic attempt to say "kill yourself" to me, because it's the most childish thing I've read on a disqus page.
For the record, if you haven't used an alternative, what you have isn't your "favorite" but your "only option."
"NFC was useless until Apple Pay." I used my NFC to pay for McDonald's in backwoods nowhere Tennessee in 2012 on my Galaxy S3. The 16 year old yokel'e eyes git huge and he asked me "Is that the new iPhone?" Guess what I got to tell him… So, by useless, you mean "not?"
You're a fool if you think any Blackberry phone is better than an iPhone, Blackberry is nowhere near the iPhone never mind the Priv, I wouldn't touch anything Blackberry, in fact the olnly Android phone I'd ever consider is a nexus, the rest of Android is trash, but even that would play second fiddle to iPhone for me which is and always will be my favourite phone and the same with iOS remaining my favourite OS. Safari slow? You must be using an old iPhone 3G, safari is way more fluid than Chrome especially on this site where the comments section on here don't always load on chrome and when they do they are extremely slow, while Safari loads the comments section EVERY TIME. Chrome is still pathetic even with Marshmallow. You're clearly a delusional fanboy. Oh and with safari, I've only had to hit reload just twice since I've had my 5c, while with chrome I can't count the number of times I've had to hit reload.
Can we have the moderators remove this post? Threatening bodily harm is one thing, but the K word is altogether different.
I too use my stock Samsung browser. It works pretty darned well and has a fairly clean interface.