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nougat2

Android 7.0 Nougat has finally reached Google'due south Nexus devices after more than five months of programmer preview testing. The final version is more stable and has a ton of new features. Most phones won't go a Nougat update for a few months at to the lowest degree, and that'll only happen if the carrier and OEM consider it a high priority. What can you lot expect when that glorious mean solar day finally arrives? I've been using Nougat on both a Nexus 6P and a Pixel C for the last few days. I won't bother reciting all the features, which y'all tin find a unproblematic list of them on Google'due south site. Let's talk about what it's actually like to use Android 7.0 Nougat every bit a daily commuter.

Doze mode gets better

In my opinion, Doze Mode in Android 6.0 was one of the near of import features to ever show up in Android. It addressed an ongoing issue with phones that could cause problems fifty-fifty for the nearly experienced users. Sometimes y'all'd install an app, and it would misbehave in the groundwork, draining your bombardment while the phone sat idle. Doze Mode shuts all that down.

In Marshmallow, leaving the phone sitting for nigh xxx minutes would activate Doze style. Almost all apps would exist put to slumber and not permitted past the system to wake upwardly until a regular update window was reached or you lot picked upwards the telephone. Of import button notifications would still arrive while in Doze.

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In Nougat, Doze Mode does the same matter, but it turns on in more situations. It'due south no longer limited but to when a device is stationary. Thus, if the phone is in your pocket, Doze Mode can yet be activated. This has fabricated a noticeable positive impact on my battery life over the last few days.

New notifications will take some getting used to

Notifications are one of the stock Android features most OEMs implement without a ton of changes. So, a lot of users will be getting the new arranged Nougat notifications in the coming months. They're much more powerful than notifications in Marshmallow, but also a little overwhelming at first.

notifNougat bundles together all the agile notifications from an app in a single expandable item. For example, if y'all've got several Gmail notifications, you tin can expand the Gmail notification to meet each 1 individually right in the notifications. You become the total snippet preview of each i as if it were the just agile notification. Plus, y'all can expand them individually to see more text and become action buttons for each notification in the bundle. If you get a lot of email, this becomes a rather ungainly list.

Messaging apps that support Nougat'south new direct reply feature in notifications are limited right now, simply I can't await for more than of them to show up. This is quick respond done correct — just expand the notification and tap in the embedded text box to type a reply.

Multi-window has potential

I of the headlining features in Android 7.0 is support for multi-window apps in carve up-screen. This was quite exciting when Google announced information technology, but in practice it'southward a little disappointing. The basic functionality makes sense. You tin long-press the overview button to shrink your current app down to the top one-half of the screen (left half in landscape) and bring upwards a listing of open apps to choose 1 for the other half. The problem, though, is developers don't accept to back up this feature at all.

During the programmer preview, any app would go into split-screen, even if it didn't work correctly. At present, if an app is on a very former API level or the developer specifically opts to block multi-window, information technology won't work. Well-nigh apps don't accept official support for multi-window, so y'all get a toast bulletin pointing out that information technology might not piece of work correctly. I haven't seen any major problems, though.

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One of the apps that won't work in split screen at all is Netflix, which would have been nice to have. Apps that don't have full back up for the new split-screen API won't operate in the background when you're interacting with the other app you have up. YouTube is a good example of what's possible with divide-screen apps. It continues playing in separate-screen while you poke around in another app. Information technology'south a cool experience.

For multi-window to exist truly useful, apps need to add full support. The double-tap shortcut for switching apps is fantastic, though. That's going to exist useful immediately.

Customizable quick settings, finally!

The quick settings UI has gotten a complete revamp in Nougat. Those are the settings toggles that show upward at the top of the expanded notification pane. In Android seven.0, they are finally customizable. There's an edit button that lets you add, remove, and rearrange the items. The first few buttons are also visible at the top of the un-expanded quick settings UI. This has already fabricated a huge divergence in my daily utilize.

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This might not have a significant touch on Android users at large, though. Most OEMs have had some form of customizable quick settings for a while. All the same, this is a huge thing for those of us who prefer stock Android. However, if OEMs choose to adopt Google'due south stock code for this feature (fifty-fifty if they re-skin it) we could have something great. There's an API for tiles that developers can plug into. That means you can download more quick settings tiles from the Play Store. There are already a few that add things like VPN toggles and a live atmospheric condition tile.

Nougat, the kitty collector

Those are all the things that will brand an immediate impact on your smartphone experience when Nougat rolls out. That'south merely scratching the surface, though. There are also seamless updates, the Vulkan graphics API, and an improved code compiler. You'll also be able to play a born version of Neko Atsume, a weird kitty collector game. You leave treats in your quick settings to lure in unique virtual cats, which you tin can and then share equally images. That'southward the Easter Egg in this version of Android. Information technology'due south more than amusing and less frustrating than the Flappy Bird Easter Egg in Marshmallow.

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Nexus devices from the Nexus half dozen onward are getting the Nougat OTA correct now. That process should be complete in a calendar week or two. The first devices from OEMs like Motorola and Samsung should get updates out by late fall.

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