Android O Features Announced; Public Beta Available for Download
Android O promises a ton of new features during the Google I/O conference last week, and now, developers and fans can test out the new update for themselves. The first public beta version of Android O has just been made available for download, and it includes some interesting updates, some of which were highlighted in Google's recent event.
The project team of Android has made faster updates a priority with the Android O version of the mobile operating system. To make good on this public commitment to Android users, Google has announced the Project Treble initiative on its Android Developers blog. This project aims to solve the problem with long delays before Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) could update their customized Android versions, by keeping vital updates like security and bug fixes separate from manufacturer customizations.
This means Google can roll out security updates for OEM phones without the manufacturers having to provide an update of their customized Android version to their users.
Another focus for the Android O team for this version is their focus on battery life, according to the International Business Times. Power usage by each application has been added to the Battery Settings screen, as well as an estimate on how each app will drain the battery charge over time.
Focus on faster boot times has also been a priority for the Android O team, which has been shown to cut the boot time of devices in half or more. Boot time for the Android O could take about 23 seconds, compared to the Android 7.0 Nougat which can take an average of 68 seconds to boot, as shown by TechRadar.
Another highly anticipated update is the Android Go version optimized for low-end mobile devices. Phones with as low as 512 MB of memory will be able to run a subset of Android O features, with versions of Android apps that requires less processing power and space compared to their full-blown Android O counterparts.
