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Google pushes out first Developer Preview of upcoming OS Android O

Improvements to battery life, notifications and more

Google pushes out first Developer Preview of upcoming OS Android O

Google has released the initial Developer Preview of its upcoming Android O operating system for devs to develop for ahead of its public release.

The Android O comes with a raft of new features, chief among them a new background limiter. This will set an automatic limit on what apps can do when running in the background in order to improve battery life.

Google will also introduce Notification Channels to improve the way notifications are pushed to users. Developers will be able to group notifications into categories that can be altered by the users, which will also reduce the potential for spamming notifications.

Picture-in-picture

The updated OS will also include Picture-in-Picture mode, allowing users to continue watching videos while accessing other apps. Multi-display support will also be added to allow apps to launch an activity on a second screen.

Other additions include autofill APIs, new ways of handling fonts, adaptive icons, improvements to WiFi, and wide-gamut color. The full list can be found on the Android Developer blog.

It's not as big an update as the Android Nougat in August 2016. The previous OS added support for Vulkan, a 3D rendering API designed to boost game graphics for Daydream support and better looking games overall.


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Ric is the Editor of PocketGamer.biz, having started out as a Staff Writer on the site back in 2015. He received an honourable mention in both the MCV and Develop 30 Under 30 lists in 2016 and refuses to let anyone forget about it.