Unlike last year, the announcement of the next Android dessert was delayed a bit. Compared to the June reveal of the Nougat, the Android Oreo was just introduced earlier this week. We’ve known about this for a while and since February, Google has been trolling us with Android Oreo and even Android Pocky teasers. But honestly, we didn’t think Google would really go ahead with Oreo until it launched the OREO Space Dunk Challenge as part of a new marketing campaign. By June, we were confident it would be Oreo based on several clues.
We believe most of the Android community know about the Oreo features as Android O Developer Previews were released the past few months since March. The last one rolled out only last month. The August 21 announcement of the name happened and now we’re ready to discover more and “take a bite off the Oreo”.
We recently noted the Rescue Party feature helps bootlooping devices while there is a new “install unknown apps” permission for protection. Android 8.0 is now available on AOSP so feel free to check it out.
Below is a rundown of some of Android Oreo’s most important features. Expect more details to be shared by the Android team and early reviews of those eager Android users who started to taste the Oreo.
Wide-gamut Color. This feature allows wide gamut images to be displayed by the apps with a flag in the code. It makes sure that apps can load wide color profiles as more types are supported including DCI-P3, Pro Photo RGB, and AdobeRGB. Android Oreo is simply given new access to a Wide Gamut color for apps.
Ambient Screen. Some notifications are highlighted, showing larger fonts. The app’s name is highlighted while quick-access to actions are made possible.
Extended Battery Life. This is possible with Background Execution Limits that delivers apps “limits on how freely they can access background services”. It’s already available in Nougat but not by default. You need to enable them in Settings manually. Location updates are also done “less frequently” to save power.
Downloadable Fonts. Apps can be released without any packaging fonts inside. This means apps can download from any support library or shared provider. Even the emoji set can be downloaded. In Android Oreo, fonts are now considered a fully supported resource type so developers can define and use them in XML layouts.
Wi-Fi Settings. Expect a number of enhancements including automatic activation of Wi-Fi when a saved network is nearby, a consolidated Wi-Fi Preferences menu, more intuitive and readable UI, plus more stability and reliability improvements.
In-app Shortcut Pinning. Users can pin a unique page inside an app for later viewing or for sharing with a contact. It will appear like an app on the homepage.
New Emoji. Check out the updated emoji set including that new rock and roller Emoji with an Aladdin Sane bolt over his eye. About 60 new emoji have been added to Android Oreo.
Adaptive Icons. Choose any shape of icon you want for your phone. It will depend on what an OEM want to display. Options include square, circle, vertical rectangle, horizontal rectangle, or transparent backdrop. For some cute effect, you can choose a “dog ear”.
Notification Dots. They will appear over apps that want to show notifications for the user. Each dot’s color will be automatically selected from the app icon where it is resting.
Android 8.0 Oreo is now available for download for some Nexus and Pixel devices such as the Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 5X, and Nexus 6P.
SOURCE: Android Developers
The name OREO itself is so interesting…….
Yummy version of android….