Android 8.0(O) rumors and features:What we know so far.

We already know that Google I/O has been scheduled for this year in May at San Francisco where Google has organized the event last year. Google I/O is traditionally the occasion where Google announces the next version of Android and this time around also Google is expected to announce the new features and improvements in the next version of Android.

One thing worth noting is that Google is all set to release three major changes to the next version of Android and they are Copy Less, Finger Gestures and improvements to text messaging experience. Along with this, we now have reports that Google is also working on some new features and 9to5Google, a blog familiar with the happenings at Google has published an exclusive report showing the things Google could be working on in the next update.

  • App icon badges for active notifications: Google borrows this feature from Apple which iPhone has had for years. The feature will enable app icons to have badges for active notifications making it easier for users to see the number of notifications for a given app just by looking at the home screen.
  • New notifications: The next iteration of Android is reported to bring ‘new notifications’. It could be as simple as a new design for notifications or a totally new and improved notification system which is probably incorporated from the ‘Andromeda’ program which Google has been reportedly working on to migrate Chrome OS and Android OS into one single OS.
  • Picture-in-picture mode: This feature was introduced last year for the Android TV during the first Android N developer preview. As this has cropped up again, we believe this time it will make its way to other devices, may be to Android phones and even Tablets. Notably, iPad has been running this feature for long now.

Picture in Picture

  • Adaptive app icons like Google Pixel: Android 8.0 is reported to bring along adaptive app icons. This could be something like the Calendar icon on Pixel phones which shows the current date directly on the app’s icon. Maybe Google is opening up the option to more interesting implementations with Android O.

  • Restricted background activities from apps like Chrome 57: Chrome 57, which was launched recently, is noted for ‘stricter throttling policy’ which it does to reduce power consumption. If the same feature makes way into Android O, as far as we understand, it would simply mean better battery life by ‘reducing power consumption of apps running in the background’.
  • MediaRecorder API improvements: Improvements in MediaRecorder API section would mean better audio and video quality of saved data. For the uninitiated, MediaRecorder API enables apps to record audio and video.
  • Smart text selection with Assistant integration: The new report also confirms a feature we heard of in the previous rumor — Copy Less. Apparently, the next version of Android will be featuring a smart way to copy/paste text between apps, and this will come with Google Assistant integration as well, as per the rumor.

Lastly, the report also states that Android O also bring with it ‘tons of enterprise stuff’ without going deeper into it.

All this features may come to Android O but they are just rumors at this time so we have to take this with a grain of salt. We will know all about Android O at the Google I/O 2017 which is going to take place in May this year.

Abhishek Jariwala
Abhishek Jariwala
Abhishek Jariwala is a technology enthusiast and an I.T Engineer from Surat, Gujarat, India who has been writing for reputed Technology websites. He has been writing news, reviews and guides on various topics related to Android. He can be seen using his brand-new OnePlus 5T

Leave a Comment