You may have heard this afternoon that Google announced two new smartphones called the Pixel and Pixel XL. They each share plenty of sweet new features like the Google Assistant and Pixel Launcher, however one of the most talked about features is the inclusion of Android 7.1 Nougat built in. It’s unclear exactly what this new version of Google’s mobile OS will include, however current Nexus device users have nevertheless begun to fear that they won’t be receiving the upgrade. On the contrary, Android Police has received confirmation from Google that Android 7.1 will make it’s way to Nexus devices alongside the Pixel C via a developer preview that’ll launch “by the end of the calendar quarter.” That’s just a fancy way of saying by the end of 2016.
For those of you who were worried about Google’s current Android devices not receiving Android 7.1 Nougat, don’t be; Google has confirmed that the Pixel phones’ current software version will be arriving on Nexus devices and the Pixel C before the end of the year.
While v7.1 Nougat will surely make it’s way to the Nexus 6P, 5X and Pixel C, it’s unclear whether the 6 or 9 will receive the software upgrade. However, we do know what will be included in the 7.1 build of Nougat that will make it’s way to past devices running Google’s software as per a secondary report by AP. Here’s the full changelog.
- Night Light
- Touch/display performance improvements
- Moves (Fingerprint swipe down gesture – opt-in)
- Seamless A/B system updates
- Daydream VR mode
- Developer features:
- App shortcuts / shortcut manager APIs
- Circular app icons support
- Keyboard image insertion
- Fingerprint sensor gesture to open/close notification shade
- Manual storage manager Intent for apps
- Improved VR thread scheduling
- Enhanced wallpaper metadata
- Multi-endpoint call support
- Support for various MNO requirements
- PCDMA voice privacy property
- Source type support for Visual Voicemail
- Carrier config options for managing video telephony
- Manual storage manager – identifies apps and files and apps using storage
For your reference, here’s everything included in v7.1 of Android for the Pixel phones.
- Pixel Launcher – swipe up for all apps, new Search Box, date/weather header on home
- Google Assistant
- Unlimited original quality photo/video backup to Google Photos
- Smart Storage – when storage is full, automatically removes old backed up photos/videos
- Phone/Chat support (new support tab in settings), screen-share functionality
- Quick switch adapter for wired setup from Android or iPhone
- Pixel Camera:
- Electronic Image Stabilization (“video stabilization”) 2.0
- Pro Features
- White Balance Presets
- Exposure Compensation
- AE/AF Locking
- Viewfinder grid modes
- HW-accelerated (on Qualcomm Hexagon coprocessor) HDR+ image processing
- Smartburst
- Sensor Hub processor with tightly integrated sensors (accel, gyro, mag) + connectivity (Wi-Fi, Cell, GPS)
- Cosmetic
- Solid navbar icons with home affordance for Assistant
- SysUI accent color theming
- Wallpaper picker with new wallpapers and sounds
- New setup look and feel
- Dynamic calendar date icon
As you can see, there’s plenty different between Nougat 7.1 for Nexus devices and the Pixel phones, namely the Google Assistant and Pixel Launcher. Of course, there will be some similarities between the two like the fingerprint sensor swipe-down gesture to access notifications quicker, but in all reality, they’re pretty different.
As more details surface about Android 7.1 Nougat and the Pixel phones, stay tuned to MBEDDED for the latest.
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