Google has finally released a stable BETA version for Android’s latest upgrade—version 8.0 Oreo. Unlike previous versions, Android Oreo doesn’t come with significant changes, but it has several eye-catching features. Going through its features, we can already tell that Google has plans to make Android robust, user-friendly, fast and secure. 

So, what are the improvements in the latest Android variant? What makes it better than the previous Android Nougat? 

Here are the best eight features of the newly unveiled Android v8.0 Oreo.

Picture-in-Picture

Probably my favourite feature of Android v8.0 Oreo, Picture-in-Picture mode allows users to watch any video while using another application altogether. Let’s take an example. When you use the Facebook app, you can minimise and watch any video while browsing through your timeline. 

Similar to that feature, Picture-in-Picture will let you minimise videos from apps like YouTube, VLC or even Netflix. I previously had to root my smartphone to enable this feature, but with Android Oreo, it comes as a built-in feature.

Yes, some third-party OEMs already offer this feature, but Android’s native support will result in a better user experience. 

Notification Dots

If you are into third-party launchers, you probably know about this feature. Whenever an app receives a notification, a number pops up on one of its sides to display the notification. Android Oreo shows badges on the app icon itself to inform you about your missed notifications. And while we are at it, Google will now allow users to snooze notifications by long pressing any app notification on the notification shade. This feature will surely help users respond promptly. 

Smart Text Selection

The Smart Text Selection, like every other feature, is here to make Android more user-friendly. This feature uses Google’s machine learning technology to detect what kind of text is selected. Simply put, this feature will be able to recognise texts whenever a user selects an address or a phone number, and show an option to act on the selected text accordingly. Whenever a phone number is selected, Android will suggest users an option to call it through the device’s Phone app. For example, if we select an address of a street, Google will show an option to view that address via Google Map. 

This feature, however, is still in its developmental phase and doesn’t support that many apps. If it doesn’t understand what the selected text is, it will just show Google’s web search. 

New Emoticons

We are in an age where smartphone users can converse simply via emoticons—or emojis as they are widely known. Emojis make any conversation a lot more enjoyable. Starting with Android v8.0 Oreo, Android will now come with differently designed emoticons. Previously, Google had ‘blob faced’ emojis and the inclusion of freshly designed emojis brought mixed reactions from people because some don’t like how flashy these newer models are. 

Also, with Android v8.0, Google is now compatible with Emoji 5.0. This simply means that Android will now support a whole set of new emoticons including vomit face and dinosaurs. 

Battery Life 

With Android Oreo, Google has opted to limit background processes of applications when users have multiple apps running on their phone. This limitation is a much-needed move as applications, especially social media ones, consume a lot of battery when running in the background. Also, restriction for apps running in the background results in better performance because it optimises RAM management in any smartphone.

Android Oreo will primarily impose restraints on applications based on what an app running in the background can do. 

Smarter Wi-Fi

If you use the Tasker app, you probably have enabled a task which toggles Wi-Fi according to your location. Some of us don’t use this application and just turn off Wi-Fi manually. We do this to save our battery or to stay away from any unsafe network. With Android v8.0 Oreo, smartphones running on the latest version of Android will be able to toggle Wi-Fi depending on users’ location. Users will be able to set locations where Wi-Fi will be toggled. This feature will surely save time and battery. 

Autofill Password

Autofill Password is a feature which has made using Windows easier. Android v8.0 Oreo will also have this feature. With inbuilt AutoFill API, all password manager apps will just fill up passwords according to usernames while keeping the information secure. This feature will surely save Android users from going through the hassle of typing passwords every time. 

Adaptive Icons 

If you use a pure version of Android on your smartphone, you are probably mad at having to download icon packs just to see some changes in the UI. Meanwhile, your friends are probably rocking some built-in feature which allows them to change their icon shapes according to their wish. There’s good news for you! Google is adding ‘adaptive icons’ feature into its operating system.

Users will now get a chance to choose from five different icon shapes—Square, Rounded Square, System Default (Original), Teardrop and Squircle. With this move from Google, we will now get a chance to see similar icons everywhere. 

When will my device receive it?

Well, we are yet to receive any news on the first smartphone that will ship with Android v8.0 Oreo out of the box. But we do know that smartphone companies have already started to work on getting the latest and greatest from Google for their smartphones. Some major manufacturer giants who are already working on it are companies like Asus, HTC, Nokia, OnePlus, Samsung and Sony. They have already confirmed that some of their devices will receive Android Oreo update.

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