The technological world is buzzing with the new release of the Android O which is just around the corner. Yet, there’s been no news about its release, keeping the Android O a mystery to the Android community. Now, Android's SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer has commented here and there about the name, however, he hasn’t leaked out any information on what we can expect.
However, just because he hasn’t said anything, doesn’t mean the rumor mill hasn’t been speculating the features of the Android O. From what people are saying, there’s going to be an update on notification, camera mode and more. So, let’s get to it and show you what people are speculating will be featured in the Android O.
App icon badges
This update was one in the waiting. The iPhone has had this for years, so it’s about time Android jumped on the bandwagon. Rumor is, the app icons in Android O will have badges for active notifications. Through these badges, you’ll be able to quickly look at your active notifications without having to open the app. So, this will appear directly on your home screen which users are going to love.
Picture-in-picture mode
Now, the details on this are slightly murky, however, from the title, it’s somewhat straightforward. The picture-in-picture mode is going to resemble that of Android TV. The picture-in-picture mode from Google was a part of Android TV. Since it’s already on Andriod TV, it only makes sense to offer this on other Android devices such as tablets and smartphones. We’re crossing our fingers for this one!
Adaptive icons
Think of adaptive icons like Google Pixel. This feature is still quite vague on what it really means, however, it’s most likely connected to dynamically changing icons which will probably be used with the Google Now Launcher, if it’s included in the Android O smartphone.
Smart text selection floating toolbar
The smart text selection floating toolbar is rumored to come with Assistant integration. This feature is rumored to be called “Copy Less” which automatically copies the information you need from apps when needed – so it’s probably going to be a smart text floating toolbar. It’ll come with recognition of texts such addresses and finger gestures. But, this is still a rumor that has yet to be confirmed.
Improvement to MediaRecorder API
MediaRecorder API works in permitting apps to take video and audio clips, saving this data to persistent storage. Rumor has it, that Android O is going to be improving on this feature. In addition, Google is focusing on working with improving audio latency, so we’ll probably see this in the Android O.
New notifications
Now, there is no solid information on what the notifications will look like in the Android O. However, there’s news that the notification system, but in the past, there were rumors about Andromeda and Android 8.0 merging, so this could be it. Or it could simply mean that Google is updating the graphics of the notifications. Though we know what Google is capable of doing, so they may be syncing your notifications to your Google account, making all your accounts in sync on any device.
Restricted background activities
Google has recently come out with Chrome 57 with one of its best features being power saving of background tabs. This means that Google is going to be restricting the activity of background apps in the Android O. So, your battery is going to last much longer than it already is right now, which you’re probably happy about. Plus, who needs background apps to be working when you’re not using them anyways? Just a waste of battery. It’s nice to be given some control over phone and not let apps run things.
Sadly, there isn’t as much information leaking out as we would like. On one side, this builds up the excitement for when it’s released, however, for the time being, we’re all sitting here wondering what they’ve come up with! As it gets closer to being released, more information about the updated features will leak out to the community. So, stay tuned as we try to find out more information about the Android O.
