What will be the next Android called? Oreo sounds interesting.
Google has always named its Android OS updates after sweet treats, and in alphabetical order. So far we’ve had Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop, Marshmallow and Nougat.
Most probably, Android O is going to release in July-August this year. If you have a recent flagship phone or tablet from a well-known maker, you will get the new OS.
The first preview of Android O is out. It features a lot of changes and some of them will affect how apps do things. Developer Preview is not meant for final consumers. Expect the phone to be buggy in plenty of ways, applications to not play nice with the preview and there’s no way you should depend on your phone being available in the case of an emergency if you’re messing about with the developer preview.
The Android O developer preview is available for the Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Pixel C and Nexus Player.
Highlights:
a. For starters, a new API will let password managers work better with native Android support.
b. There is also now adaptive icons so app devs can make their icon fit on almost any theme in any shape.
c. Apps will now have notification channels. For instance, Facebook can send you a notification for a like and then have a different notification for comments. You’ll be able to configure these so you can get notifications only for comments but not for likes.
d. There are important features for developers, like background app limits, which could significantly improve Android battery life.
e. Improved Autofill Framework is another great feature. Users will have to opt in to this service, but will then find it easier to fill in login and credit-card information forms with fewer mistakes and much less repetition.
f. Picture-in-picture, which is already available on Android TV, is coming to Android O. This is mostly used for video playback.
g. Android O won’t be restricted to phones, so there will be improved arrow and tab key navigation for when used with a physical keyboard.
Will I get Android O?
Most probably, Android O is going to release in July-August this year. If you have a recent flagship phone or tablet from a well-known maker such as Sony, Samsung, HTC, LG or Motorola, it’s likely you’ll see the update rolled out within the first few months of 2018.
In its promotion of the Moto G4 Plus, Motorola has already said it will receive Android Nougat and Android O.
If you’e running a mid-range or budget model it’s likely that you will never get Android O.
