Google has officially released Android 7.0 Nougat today, as we reported last week.. The new version of the operating system is rolling out to the following devices: Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player and Pixel C.
So, what are the major differences between Android Marshmallow and Nougat. We have been using Nougat since it was released in March, and we have to say the differences between the two firmware aren’t that big. But there are a feww noticeable features in Nougat.
For starters, the most prominent feature is Direct Reply, which lets you reply to messages directly from the status bar. The feature works in most IM apps including Whatsapp, Telegram, etc. Here are a couple of screenshots showing you how it works.
Speaking of replies, lets say you get a bunch of notifications in one of the IM apps, normally this will be displayed in the form of individual swipable notifications for each conversation. But in Android 7.0 Nougat, notifications from a single app are bundled into one in the Notification Shade. These bundled notifications enable apps to display a single swipable tab containing a preview of the message in them. For example, if 3 or 4 friends text you on Whatsapp, you will see one single notification which displays the last message from each of the contacts.
MultiWindow is finally here, and as the name so obviously suggests it lets you run multiple apps on the same screen. Here is a screenshot which shows the Chrome browser and Telegram app running on our Nexus 6.
Direct Boot, is the third important feature in Nougat. Let’s say your phone is encrypted, the device will be locked, until you unlock it. This means that apps won’t run until you unlock the phone. Direct Boot lets some functions of apps work partially, to assist you, including the Clock and Alarms.
The Quick Settings housed in the notification shade are now customizable, meaning you can add or remove, or move the ones you want around easily.
Another important feature in Nougat, is support for Vulcan API. This is a new graphics API, which will improve the quality of gaming with 3D graphics. Similarly, Android Nougat also supports Virtual Reality for apps, in phones which support Daydream. There are about 72 emojis in Android 7.0 Nougat, and we’ll leave you to find the new ones.
Google hasn’t published the Nougat factory images yet. So, all you can do is wait for the OTA Updates to roll out.
Oh, and yes it goes without saying, that the Google Nexus 5 will not get Android 7.0 Nougat, now that it is over 3 years, since the phone was launched.
via: Android and Android Developers
