After a year of development and several months of testing, Google unveiled the new Android operating system, which will be available on many phones later this year.
The new version is Android 8 or Android O (following the sequence of the letters) has the official name of Android Oreo (each new version of Android takes the name of a dessert) and comes after Android 7 Nougat.
Pixel smartphones and Nexus 5X and 6P will be the first to receive Android Oreo as an update, while other manufacturers are expected to update their smartphones and tablets (at least the best-selling ones) by the end of 2017.
Precisely an update to Android 8 is expected for the latest Samsung Galaxy smartphones, for the Huawei P10 and perhaps P9, for the HTC, Motorola and Sony phones.
Android 8.0 Oreo includes several new features and improvements over the next version, to make the mobile platform safer, faster, more efficient, to improve every Android smartphone and tablet (which receives the update).
Making a summary of the news announced, let's see here what are the best features of Android Oreo or Android 8
1) Improvement for battery life
With Android Oreo, Google prevents applications from consuming power if they are in the background in order to improve the battery life of the device.
Android 8 will try to limit the background services and especially the location updates of the apps not in use.
2) Self-filling
To facilitate the task of remembering passwords for apps and websites, in Android 8 Oreo it is possible to authorize some apps to automatically fill in the login fields required to access accounts.
For example, you can use the Lastpass app to remember passwords and automatically write them when requested.
The self-filling can also concern other data such as name, surname, address and others typically required by the forms to be filled out.
3) Picture-in-Picture (multitasking)
With Android O devices it becomes possible to watch a video on Youtube and, at the same time, chat on Whatsapp.
The multitasking already introduced in Android 7 is therefore improved, not only dividing the screen between two applications, but also allowing to superimpose two apps, as if to keep a video over the Whatsapp chat (Picture-in-Picture).
On tablets and smartphones with Android 8, when you see a video, just press the Home button to reduce the video in the lower right corner of the screen.
You can then open any other app leaving the video always in view, with the possibility of moving it along the edge of the screen, and touching it to make it return to full screen.
4) Google Play Protect
Android Oreo was developed with the obsessive thought of security, thus integrating it with the new anti-malware tool called Google Play Protect (which is already present now on Android smartphone versions 6 and 7.
Play Protect automatically acts to protect data, to detect and remove malicious applications.
5) Wi-Fi Aware (Networking Aware Neighborhood - NAN)
Android Oreo has added a new connection feature called Wi-Fi Aware, also known as Neighborhood Aware Networking (NAN), which allows applications and devices to automatically locate, connect and share data directly, even if there is no a wifi network and also without internet connection.
In practice, it allows you to exchange data between two Android smartphones even if there is no internet connection in common, with more speed than Bluetooth.
6) Android Instant Apps
Instant apps are the ones you can try without downloading them, a bit like you would with web applications.
This feature can be useful for testing apps before installing them or even if you have a device with little free space.
7) New Emojis and the possibility to download other Emojis and special characters
With the new Android Oreo version, you can send new Emojis from your phone and download more if you want even more and different ones.
8) Smart Text Selection
This function allows you to easily and automatically recognize phone numbers, addresses, names and other things in text messages that can be used by other apps.
For example, if a restaurant name is sent to us, the Smart Text Selection function will automatically open maps with directions to get there.
9) Limits on notifications and icon notifications
On Android 8 smartphones, you can limit the appearance of notifications from an application.
With Oreo, then, on smartphones you can read the notifications directly from the application icons, by touching and holding them.
10) Ability to install apps from "Unknown sources" more controlled
In Android Oreo there is no longer the "Unknown sources" option to be activated to install applications downloaded as APK files from different sources than the Google Play Store.
When this happens, therefore, it will be necessary, every time, to authorize the installation manually and not once and for all.
Basically, to make a summary of how Android smartphones Samsung, Huawei, HTC, Motorola and others will be improved with Android 8 Oreo, we will have:
- Higher startup speed
- Picture-in-picture function to do two things together on the screen
- Limit annoying notifications without interrupting them forever.
- Auto-filling of passwords
- Various system optimizations that make Android faster and safer
- Better energy management and superior battery life on all updated devices.
READ ALSO: 8 hidden tricks in Android 8 Oreo for advanced features
The new version is Android 8 or Android O (following the sequence of the letters) has the official name of Android Oreo (each new version of Android takes the name of a dessert) and comes after Android 7 Nougat.
Pixel smartphones and Nexus 5X and 6P will be the first to receive Android Oreo as an update, while other manufacturers are expected to update their smartphones and tablets (at least the best-selling ones) by the end of 2017.
Precisely an update to Android 8 is expected for the latest Samsung Galaxy smartphones, for the Huawei P10 and perhaps P9, for the HTC, Motorola and Sony phones.
Android 8.0 Oreo includes several new features and improvements over the next version, to make the mobile platform safer, faster, more efficient, to improve every Android smartphone and tablet (which receives the update).
Making a summary of the news announced, let's see here what are the best features of Android Oreo or Android 8
1) Improvement for battery life
With Android Oreo, Google prevents applications from consuming power if they are in the background in order to improve the battery life of the device.
Android 8 will try to limit the background services and especially the location updates of the apps not in use.
2) Self-filling
To facilitate the task of remembering passwords for apps and websites, in Android 8 Oreo it is possible to authorize some apps to automatically fill in the login fields required to access accounts.
For example, you can use the Lastpass app to remember passwords and automatically write them when requested.
The self-filling can also concern other data such as name, surname, address and others typically required by the forms to be filled out.
3) Picture-in-Picture (multitasking)
With Android O devices it becomes possible to watch a video on Youtube and, at the same time, chat on Whatsapp.
The multitasking already introduced in Android 7 is therefore improved, not only dividing the screen between two applications, but also allowing to superimpose two apps, as if to keep a video over the Whatsapp chat (Picture-in-Picture).
On tablets and smartphones with Android 8, when you see a video, just press the Home button to reduce the video in the lower right corner of the screen.
You can then open any other app leaving the video always in view, with the possibility of moving it along the edge of the screen, and touching it to make it return to full screen.
4) Google Play Protect
Android Oreo was developed with the obsessive thought of security, thus integrating it with the new anti-malware tool called Google Play Protect (which is already present now on Android smartphone versions 6 and 7.
Play Protect automatically acts to protect data, to detect and remove malicious applications.
5) Wi-Fi Aware (Networking Aware Neighborhood - NAN)
Android Oreo has added a new connection feature called Wi-Fi Aware, also known as Neighborhood Aware Networking (NAN), which allows applications and devices to automatically locate, connect and share data directly, even if there is no a wifi network and also without internet connection.
In practice, it allows you to exchange data between two Android smartphones even if there is no internet connection in common, with more speed than Bluetooth.
6) Android Instant Apps
Instant apps are the ones you can try without downloading them, a bit like you would with web applications.
This feature can be useful for testing apps before installing them or even if you have a device with little free space.
7) New Emojis and the possibility to download other Emojis and special characters
With the new Android Oreo version, you can send new Emojis from your phone and download more if you want even more and different ones.
8) Smart Text Selection
This function allows you to easily and automatically recognize phone numbers, addresses, names and other things in text messages that can be used by other apps.
For example, if a restaurant name is sent to us, the Smart Text Selection function will automatically open maps with directions to get there.
9) Limits on notifications and icon notifications
On Android 8 smartphones, you can limit the appearance of notifications from an application.
With Oreo, then, on smartphones you can read the notifications directly from the application icons, by touching and holding them.
10) Ability to install apps from "Unknown sources" more controlled
In Android Oreo there is no longer the "Unknown sources" option to be activated to install applications downloaded as APK files from different sources than the Google Play Store.
When this happens, therefore, it will be necessary, every time, to authorize the installation manually and not once and for all.
Basically, to make a summary of how Android smartphones Samsung, Huawei, HTC, Motorola and others will be improved with Android 8 Oreo, we will have:
- Higher startup speed
- Picture-in-picture function to do two things together on the screen
- Limit annoying notifications without interrupting them forever.
- Auto-filling of passwords
- Various system optimizations that make Android faster and safer
- Better energy management and superior battery life on all updated devices.
READ ALSO: 8 hidden tricks in Android 8 Oreo for advanced features
