Android N update: release date, news and features


Android N: release date, news and rumors

Update: Someone has been searching through the Android N source code and has found a hint toward the Android Beta program opening up to other devices not made by Google. It may mean you get the latest software on your Samsung, Sony, LG, HTC or other OEM made device even sooner.

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.

Android N

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.

Android N

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.

Android N

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.

Android N

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

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.

Android N

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.

Android N

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?

Best Android

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.

Samsung, Sony, LG and HTC are usually quite fast at getting the update to your phone, as is Motorola. Some other manufacturers can take a little while to release it though.

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

Android

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

Google Pixel C

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

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

Android

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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25 Comments
  1. Reply Kadin Schoen April 11, 2016 at 9:52 am

    Yea a $600.00 – $800.00 fruity smartphone that can't do much of anything a $150.00 -$200.00 ZTE or similar Chinese Android smart phone with a 4 core Snapdragon CPU, Android Gorilla Glass, phat QHD screen ,Dolby Sound can do is real f**ing smart isn't it they are made about the same way and both are Chinese products and may share similar suppy chains ? ☻☻

  2. Reply Ms. Daniela Hoppe April 11, 2016 at 1:28 pm

    "NFC was useless until Apple Pay."

    WTF U think Apple pay is other than a fruity NFC Pay …the underlying technical ISO/IEC protocols & communication standards are the same thing just like OS X is nix based

    ^^^That's why Apple Pay works at NFC terminals that service friuty pay to begin with they didn't invent the NFC wheel here i.e,
    2002 Sony and Philips agreed to establish a technology specification and created a technical outline on March 25, 2002. -Wikipedia-

  3. Reply Athena Lehner PhD April 11, 2016 at 2:50 pm

    yea they got Samsung Pay & Android NFC pay now too !

    ………….So who GAS about fruity pay ?

    NFC been around over 10 yrs and so have smart phones and PC's and mp3 players before Apple ever made them what was the last thing Apple invented …oh s**t ….they haven't invented anything have they ?

    i.e, Steve Jobs ……..Just as big of an idea thief as Thomas Edison ☻☻

    NFC,
    2002 Sony and Philips agreed to establish a technology specification and created a technical outline on March 25, 2002.
    2003 NFC was approved as an ISO/IEC standard on December 8, and later as an ECMA standard.
    2004 Nokia, Philips and Sony established the NFC handset Forum
    2007 Innovision’s NFC tags used in the first consumer trial in the UK, in the Nokia 6131

    -Wikipedia –

    WTF was Apple during all this ?

  4. Reply Barbara Tromp April 11, 2016 at 3:02 pm

    f*ing fruity fanboys they everywhere ☻

  5. Reply Chelsey Mann April 11, 2016 at 3:31 pm

    deleted by user

  6. Reply Jerod Mayer I April 11, 2016 at 3:44 pm

    Chinese are going to decimate the high dollar fruit phone market with just as capable and well designed phones for a fraction of the cost of a friut phone I already have a new one and it runs fine on Android and has a phat QHD screen ,Dolby sound and 4 core Snapdragon CPU !

    Why U think AAPL is trying to get in the car business they know it ……and so does Wall st !

  7. Reply Jamir Kirlin April 11, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    I guess if you live in your car ,somebody's basement or a third world s* hole a smartphone /fruity phone
    is a big deal TBH they ain't worth talking about much in my world as long as they do what I ask of them when I pull them outta pocket or pick them up and usually all that outside of a simple phone call is much better on my desktop PC ,my HP Elite book or smart TV away .

    I can even do voice search ,Bluetooth or plug in a mouse and keyboard to my 4K Sony Android smart TV along with web browsing and doing a zillion other Android things including controlling home security ,climate and Home automation with the Sony Android TV !

  8. Reply Prof. Elvera Schuster April 11, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    I'm not sure why they removed the option but I never minded as simply pulling down the quick settings menu will reveal it and there are plenty of third party solutions available, specifically custom lauchers in which I think are a must. At least you can do things like this, iOS users are stuck with whatever blesses their users wirh. Though all of that said, Android 6 and 7 do have it built in, just enable the development options and you'll find your option for enabling battery percentage.

  9. Reply Adrien Kassulke April 11, 2016 at 7:24 pm

    Right I have never had a single malware, hack, etc. on any of my phone's. These comments are made by people who want to ellivate their choice of device as the right and only choice. iOS is a prison, at least that's my opinion, it also doesn't have a quarter of the features Android has. I mean it took Apple 8 years to even release a function in order for files to be shared other apps. I was doing this in 2001 with my Nokia Communicator. You still can't run apps in the background, or at least none that actually matter and the file system is just a complete nightmare.

  10. Reply Russel Cormier April 11, 2016 at 7:37 pm

    Still waiting for Android 6.0 Marshmallow on my 2015 4K Sony Android TV !

  11. Reply Dr. Maybell Kuhic April 11, 2016 at 8:24 pm

    These problems don't exist with the Nexus lime and Google will eventually be releasing their own phone. Unfortunately iOS just isn't an option for me as it's missing to many critical features. Such as running apps I'm the background, a viable file-management system , the ability to open files directly from the system, the ability to mount all of my remote storages as local drives, support for my monitor, mouse, external HD, etc. This list actually goesmon for a while, I'm also not a big fan of iOS's look, it's frankly outdated looking.

  12. Reply Herminia McLaughlin April 11, 2016 at 9:09 pm

    iOS's idea of simplicity is simply to not add any features to it. In reality though, iOS is far from simplistic, for example; transferring files between apps is so convoluted with unnecessary steps that's enough to give someone an aneurysm. After a single day with my iPad Pro I had so many copies of copies from Sharing files between apps that I had no idea which one was the latest, with no way of searching for files within all of my apps, I simply just gave up on the iPad Pro all together. When I downloaded a file from Chrome, in which I was forced to use because Safari doesn't even support downloading of files, than Shared it to MS Word, that was 2 files created, after I was finished editing, I than sent it to a zip app, number 3, after sending the zipped file via an email, I than moved the file to OneDrive, 4th file created as every time you Share a file, a copy is sent and the original stays. On what planet is that considered as simple. In Android, all of my cloud storage, NAS, FTP and other computers on the network are mounted as local drives. So when I downloaded the same file, I chose the OneDrive virtual drive to save the file to, than using FX File Explorer I just simply clicked on, Open With, selected Word which is the same version that iOS has. When finished editing I clicked saved, the file was already in my OneDrive so I than just went back to FX, zipped the file and emailed it, done, again all from a single app, only one file ever created. Trying to find multiple files with a name of a person embedded inside the file itself, from multiple apps, cloud storage, than zipping all them, took me about 20 minutes to do in iOS, Android, less than 2 min. Ugh, just everything file related in iOS is an absolute horror show, my Nokia Communicator from 12 years ago has a better file management system.

    Consistently, Android is now 10x more consistent than iOS do to the Material design language, something in which almost every app developer is now using giving continuity to the system. All of the menus are the same, layout, look, etc. iOS is chaotic, every app is an all for one affair with no real guidlines to follow, at least none that developers are following. Even Apples own apps have really no connection between each other. Again, dealing with files, since apps have to manage their own files, every single interface is different, cloud storage, some apps have support for one cloud service, some others, and so and so forth. Android, I can use all of my cloud service within every single app directly, without having to Share, making another friggen copy in order to upload a file to a cloud storage that’s not listed in the Share list. A list by the way that is populated by app developers manually, who have to create a share profile for each of their apps, Android creates it’s share to lists dynamically by automatically searching for supported apps in the background. Being able to choose which cloud service gets what data is important because they all have their strengths, my photos go to Google Drive because it's free to store an unlimited amount of photos, in which I have over 3GB worth. OneDrive is for my movies, as I have a 1TB contract and OneDrive has the absolute best online video streaming interface, it even converts files in real-time so you can still view files like .mkv, and so on. The dual apps view, only about 140 apps or so actually support it as of right now, yes, more and more app developers are writing in support but it's already been 5 months since it’s release and not even 1% of the apps in the Apple App Store support it. In Android, after I enabled multi-window, which is built into Android 6, just disabled because it’s in Beta, however works just fine, once enabled, every single app was supported. Only about 80% of the apps I had installed on the iPad Pro actually supported its resolution instead they were all Pixel doubled. Apps in iOS are independent resolution, causing even more inconsistencies, especially when you connect a external display, which be the way has got to be the worst experocnr I have seen as of yet. First the aspect ratio and resolution was supported, so everything looked blurry and I had these black bars, than their was the weird DPI, it was just huge and looked cartoonist, lastly, iOS deosn’t support extending the desktop, just mirroring so the iOS device becomes useless. Both my Nexus 6 and Pixel C have a USB C port so I just use my MacBook 12” USB C Hub which has 2 USB 3, HDMI, Ethernet and a SD Card Reader. Everything works flawlessly and is supported, resolution, aspect ratio, I can use a custom DPI to make it look more like desktop UI and I can extend the desktop so both displays are useable. The Pixel C also supports 4K so I can use my 27” 4K ThinkVision TouchScreen monitor with it. Since it also has mouse support, which iOS also doesn’t support. Plus, because the Pixel C uses Linux GPU drivers, I’ve installed Arch Linux in a Chroot under Android and am running full Linux Applications with GPU acceleration, they work great, turning the Pixel C into a useable workstation. The iPad Pro, just absolutely sucked as a productivity machine, didn’t even come close to the Pixel C’s capabilities.

    Now, you might not have an iPad Pro but these problems still reside in every single iOS device. Why, well every time Apple releases a new feature in iOS, it takes at least 6 months until most of the top apps get support for these new features, however a lot of, actually the bulk of the apps take even longer, with many that don’t even bother. Take 3D touch, besides the top 100 apps, most of the rest still do not have support for it. Again, this all falls under inconsistencies and will never change for the better until iOS fixes their crazy sandboxing paradigm, their so called Walled Garden.

    Android is reliable, my 6P hasn’t had a single app crash since I bought it, not a one and I’m running Android 7 on it now, which is in Beta. The same thing with my Nexus 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and even my new Pixel C which is absolutely bullet proof. Since I also use the launcher Smart Launcher 3, my apps are all organized in categories, which means finding files is quick and easy. In iOS, even now that you can search for apps, it’s a mess. You can’t even setup a home screen in which you can put your most used apps on, just an endless scroll of apps.

    Fluidity, since Android 4.4.4 I haven’t seen anything that could be construed as lag, however I've also never bought a budget Android phone in which these reports of lag are coming from. Some apps do take a while to load, however iOS has the same exact issue with these types of apps, it’s the app developers fault, not the OS's.

    Another huge problem I had with iOS was not being able to run apps in the background. Even if you don’t think you need this ability, this problem causes things like Safari refreshing it’s pages if you switch to another app for more than a couple of minutes and than return back. Even on an iPad with 4GB of RAM I had to use MS Word to write up my posts because I kept loosing my work. With every single Android device I've owned, I was able to write posts longer than this, without posting them for an entire day, than go back to them at my leisure when I get home from work. Still there, waiting to be finished, waiting to be posted. Even the most simple of tasks like downloading a file is hugely compromised because of this problem, if your downloading a file in the background and it takes longer than 10 minutes to do, well, you're SOL, iOS just terminates the download. Sure, there is a resume button but this doesn’t rectify or justify the problem, also, it only works 1 out of 10 times. Haven’t you ever wanted to use your device while streaming a video to your TV wirelessly and not have iOS stop the film your watching simply because you started up Safari, I haven’t used an OS so awful at multitasking , since a decade and a half ago with Mac OS 9.2, in which you were able to pause the entire system by just holding down the mouse button. How people used Mac OS pre OSX for so long is beyond me. I jumped ship at OS 7.5.5 and went to SGI. When a device like the Psion 5 MX has a more powerful OS than a $3,000 PowerBook, you know something is wrong.

    Lastly and this put the biggest nail in iOS’s coffin fro me, the inability to change my own default apps, it’s Apple’s apps or nothing. So everytime I click on a link, Safari open’s up, I don’t want to use Safari, it’s archaic and I can’t even download a file with it, useless, an eMail address, Apple Mail, again, useless as it’s the very definition of minimum, etc. In Android, the first time I click on a file or link, it asks me, which app do I want to use to open this file with and if I want to use it for now on every time I click on such a file. This isn’t complexity, these are what’s called features, running a simple terminal in the backround all day long because you need to monitor trades coming through from the exchange that is all based off of Unix, features, connecting to a monitor and expecting everything to be supported, features, searching for every file you have on your system by simply saying, show me all of my files with the name “blah” in it. Wait, I’’ stop here for a second, how can I do that, It’s not part of Google’s, “Google Now” technology, except that it is. I can assign any command I want to a voice command, even a Python script. I can trigger an automated script every time a certain email comes through with an attached file that contains data from a clearing house, calculate said data, create an Excel sheet and than resend it, all in the background, all, again automated. iOS users can only dream of having this kind of automation and scripting capabilities. Yes, this is Pro level stuff but when I buy a device with the name Pro behind it, I expect that device to be able to do the types of things. Look, my Nokia 9500 Communicator from 2004 could do that exact same thing , so this isn’t some crazy request. Again, you’re probably thinking that you would never have any reason to have any of this and that you just want a simple phone, that’s great and all, for you, but there are many who do want these things as they have enormous value for those who work smart by automating repetitive tasks. iOS only gives people like me a fraction of what we need.

    I’m happy that you enjoy your iPhone, for me though iOS is a prison, missing even the most basic features and frankly just can’t hold a candle to Android. Android 7 just makes things even better. Pretty isn’t everything. Good luck in your future endeavors.

  13. Reply Mrs. Maud Windler V April 11, 2016 at 9:15 pm

    You're right. He must be new to this. I keep my BlackBerry Priv pretty empty, but the fact I CAN is what's important, you know?

  14. Reply Brooklyn Carroll April 11, 2016 at 9:23 pm

    Exactly, that's how I felt, iOS is simply missing waaaaayyyy to many features for my liking. I'm not even taking about customization, no, important fearures like file managememt are treated as second class citizens. However the response I always get from iOS users is that it's the future, I aure hope not, I mean just moving files around in iOS is a complete nightmare, I had more copies of copies than on any system I've ever used. I couldn't even download a large file in the background, the OS kept terminating the connections after 10 minutes. I seriously do not understand how people can use that OS, their new iPad Pro is the definition of Compromise. Tim Cook had the audacity to come out and say that notebooks with touchscreens are a stupid idea because the user has to constantly reach up and over the keyboard to use the touch display. Uhm, Mr. Cook, what do you think iPad Pro users are doing, an Apple insignia doesn't automatically make it any better, at least with a notebook you can use the trackpad. iOS doesn't even support a mouse, heck you can't even use their new Pencil to navigate the system UI with, compromise should be changed to Applemise.

  15. Reply Audreanne Champlin April 11, 2016 at 9:37 pm

    I never had any problems on Android Smartphones like what U are saying or my Android Sony 4K HDR TV either but U keep wasting your money on friuty phones and see how well your retirement works out like that and then get back to us !

    FWIW I'm retired and can afford any phone ,PC or TV
    I want and pay cash them & a new vehicle every 3-4 yrs but I never wasted my money on fruit phones ….
    I invested it instead and used company provided Blackberries and sometimes less expensive personal smartphones and spent my out of pocket $$ on some things more fun like travel ,phat rides ,my cribs or some fun bimbos on weekend get ways now and then .

    No way I'm going to waste 6 or 8 bills on a friut phone,and if I did I would get a Samsung ,Nokia or anything and not something from the GD fruit company anyway….. it's just a GD smart phone and if it ain't you need a life and maybe a phat 4K HDR TV anyway ☻

  16. Reply Percy Hickle April 11, 2016 at 11:45 pm

    Same here, with my Nokia N950, N9, 808 Pureview, I was buying train tickets, using it grocery stores, kiosks, vending machines, etc. I swear, people act as if Apple created mobile pay. In Switzerland, before NFC, you could buy things with your phone as far back as 2005 by simply scanning a barcode and it would charge your mobile number. I used to pay for gas this way.

  17. Reply Prof. Loy Ratke DDS April 12, 2016 at 2:31 am

    ooooo getting the angry acronyms out bennie boiiiii

  18. Reply Josianne Mohr April 12, 2016 at 2:55 am

    Firefox,Chrome or just about anything on a PC beats a fruit phone ….my 4 Core Snapdragon CPU phat screen ZTE Anrdoid phone works fine with Chrome so do some Samsung's I've used and FWIW Samsung was or still is a big friut phone component supplier and used to make all their CPU's .

    OTOH I never seen anything Safari or iTunes that wasn't totally s**tty !

  19. Reply Jamaal Nicolas April 12, 2016 at 3:09 am

    I hope people finally realizes something. N is out in a test version for some Nexus devices already. It's finnished enough to let people try it. So google has been working on it, and working on driver for it, for a few months. The final release candidate wont be out for a few months.

    In other words google has an enourmous head start with every new Android version.

    It's not just the skinning process. Drivers has to be made for many components, as google do not make a complete library.
    Besides, some other makers have for example managed to give us better battery life with pretty much the same hardware as found in nexus devices. Meaning that google hasn't even perfected those drivers.
    So even if it's frustrating, you should have to expect to wait for a few months. It's google fault. They could have shared upcoming android versions earlier. They could also have written more drivers. And they could have gotten their hands on to some of the best selling devices, and written a base version including drivers and all for that device, to hand over to the maker, so that they do not have to start from scratch, everytime a new android version is released.

    Or if google does not want to work closer with other companies earlier in to the process of the new OS. They should hold off the release, and not officially release it for a few months, so they can't have a joint release together with other makers. Nexus devices could get a fully functional release candidate, but not the final release, earlier. This would have the advantage of giving Google the time to discover and fix some issues. Google 6.1 was pretty much released before any other brand came even with 6.0 on their devices. And 6.0 releases that had been in the works got cancelled for the 6.1 version. That still hasn't seens it's way to many devices that wasnt delivered with it.

    And those skins some complain about them. Many features that Google introduces to new android versions has been around in the form of skins, already. So those help driving the evolution of Android.
    If I'm not misstaken, initially Google wanted other companies to help develop android, but they gave that up, long before android felt complete, and before it became big. Today other compnaies would have perhaps been more interested in helping developing new versions. But on the other hand, they would probably still want skins to differentiate themselves. And some features Google would probably not pick up, at least not initially, so there would be exclusive features in those skins anyhow.

    Those that complain about bloatware.
    Well google has that to. Really, the only thing that should come on a bloat-less device is an app-store (Google Play), the rest should be up to the user, or at least you should be able to un-install everything else (but that ususally leaves files in the system, so you are not completely free from that app, even though it now perhpas only uses KB of memory, or maybe 1MB or so).
    Many of the biggest apps in your device, even an older Samsung devices that was critizied for having a lot of bloat, will be google Apps. So the rest of the bloat would be less of a problem, if we werent forced to have those google apps.

    I agree that you should be able to delete any app you dont want, but that should be true for google apps as well. And I think it's unfair to complain about bloat on every device but the nexus devices, when they clearly have bloatware as well. Just less of it (some of the biggest blotwares, but most other makers have the google bloat + a little or a lot of other bloatwares as well).

  20. Reply Brianne Stroman April 12, 2016 at 4:01 am

    fruity fanboy GTFO

  21. Reply Filomena Quitzon April 12, 2016 at 6:42 am

    Android is garbage compared to iOS because of its fluidity, simplicity, consistency and reliability. Android is simply a POS OS.

  22. Reply Destiney Mosciski Jr. April 12, 2016 at 6:48 am

    That's what the Nexus line is for, I absolutely adore my new Nexus 6P and Nextbit Robin. Also, never, ever buy a phone through a contract, it's just a complete waste of money and you're at the mercy of the mobile carriers for updates.

  23. Reply Tamara Fay April 12, 2016 at 6:51 am

    @benjamin owuye jagun @onstrike112
    Right I even side load stuff into my 2015 Sony 4K Android TV outside of the allowed Sony Android TV apps in the Google play store !

    Bennie must be a tech newbie or maybe tech ignorant and just parrots what he reads .

    We already know he's a fruit phone fanboy

  24. Reply Edward Runolfsson April 12, 2016 at 6:53 am

    At least I can download a friggen file with Chrome and I've never experienced any of the lag your talking about. In fact, when I'm typing a comment using an iOS device, I have to write it an app like Word because if I receive a call while typing directly in Safari, the moment I return to finish, the site is has been refreshed loosing all of my work in the process and this is on an iPad Pro with 4GB of RAM? Breathe of fresh air, yea, from a ventilator as iOS is so hacked together with API's in order to do even the most basic of functions, it feels like being on life support.

  25. Reply Layla Rohan DVM April 12, 2016 at 7:27 am

    This is a preview for Android 7, if you have no interest in the platform than don't post here, it's simply trolling if you do. These types of comments have absolutely zero benefits to the conversation. There are plenty of iOS centric articles, there is no need to come here as well.

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