Android O (Oreo) or Android O is to be launched at an event in New York next week. Google has been teasing latest version of its Android OS since May. The company released developer previews for developers and fans to get feedback on new features and managed to fix them in beta. Android O will first debut on Nexus and Pixel devices and from thereon it will be on OEMs to roll it out for their devices. On August 21, Google will also reveal the name of Android “O” and I am expecting that it will be “Oreo”.

“Android O is touching down to earth with the total solar eclipse, bringing some super (sweet) new powers!” – Google

Roundup of Features You will be getting in Android 8.0

Notifications

There is an all new notification channel which offers the ability to have group notifications from apps. It means that you can now flock your notifications under type, for example, sports notifications that will store all information about sports that comes in the app.

It will provide wider control of what user wants to see and what not – which app can popup notifications and which can’t. Users will also get to customize their notification feed. There is also a slight redesign for notifications, offering a neat layout for media notifications (videos and music).

Picture In Picture (PiP)

The PiP feature will be helpful for those who watch a lot of videos on their Android devices. It lets users put a video into a PiP mode when switching to a new app. It works like how videos minimise on YouTube app when we search for other videos while watching one.

Adaptive Icons

Adaptive icons allow better customization with User Interface Android O will also let users create icons which are displayed in different shapes on the screen. All these icons will have a corresponding animated action that come into action when the user touches their icons.

Icons are also redesigned from old cylindrical type shape to square-shaped icons.

Background Usage Limits

This version of Android focuses on reducing the background usage of data while conserving battery life. Android O has asserted control over the app and it can limit the amount of data used by an app in the background which increases/improve the battery life.

Better Audio and Connectivity

The Android O comes with high-quality Bluetooth audio codecs – LDAC codec, Android O’s AAudio technology which is specially designed for apps that demand “high-performance, low latency in audio”.

In Developer preview, Google also released new AAudio API for Pro Audio feature to get feedback from users and make amends if any.

For connectivity, there are new Wi-Fi features such as Wi-Fi Aware formerly known as Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN).

Google Play Protect

Google has introduced a new program “Google Play Protect” with Android O. It is aimed at keeping the device safe from malicious apps. At the I/O 2017 event, Google explained that Play Protect scans 50 billion apps a day to ensure that they are safe.

It will also allow users to launch a manual scan.

Faster Boot Time

Faster boot time also depends on the hardware of device but for devices that will run Android O, Google is promising to bring faster boot time without considering the performance of hardware specs. Not just Operating System but apps will also work faster than ever.

Google has also added “wise limits” for location and execution of apps that will run in the background which will save battery life and clear memory.

Smarter Text Selection

With Android O, Google has integrated machine learning to identify text elements like names, addresses and more, efficiently.

It will help in copy paste tasks and suggest related apps accordingly. If you select an email it will suggest you send an email with Gmail or if you select an address it will provide suggestion to search it on Google Maps.

New Emojis

Google has replaced gumdrop emoji style with new round face icons on Android O. There are many new options for emoji such as giraffe, wizard, starstruck, throwing up, fairy, mermaid, and more.

These are some interesting features that are coming along with Android 8.0 or Android O. I am eagerly waiting for its launch and availability to test it. What do you think of These Android 8.0 features? Let me know in the comment section below.