The third Android N developer preview considered the first beta build was released on select Nexus devices at Google I/0 2016. While some smartphone users can already try the Android N Preview on their devices, there are many Android users out there who own handsets that are not eligible for the preview. The good news is that the latter category is not entirely left out, and eager Android N enthusiasts can still get a taste of Android N through the Android N-ify Xposed module. What’s more is that the N-ify module has now been updated to include additional Android N-like features.
The latest update to Android N-ify bumps the version to 0.2.0 and is labeled as “Stable” with “low risk of bugs”. The package weighs 1.64 MB and should be compatible with the Xposed framework running on most near-AOSP devices. However, as was the case with the previous version, Android N-ify seems to conflict with ROMs that happen to modify the same code as the module itself. This includes official ROMs with heavily modified UIs, such as Samsung TouchWiz and LG’s proprietary user interface. As for the new Android N-ify release, the latest version adds new notifications, quick settings, and new “recents” designs, Quick Switch for double-tapping “recents” to switch to the last opened application, an option to restart SystemUI, app theme switch, an option to force English app language, and the option to use the “recents” button to return to last app, return to current app, or navigate through recent applications. The update also includes translations in Dutch, Farsi, French, Korean, Polish, Russian, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Keep in mind that the Android N-ify module has not been built using official Android N assets, so it may not represent an entirely accurate depiction of Google’s upcoming update. Certain issues are present and some features are missing, but the module will continue to improve with each release, and the developer has confirmed that some of the features planned to be added in the future include quick settings animations, quick reply, and night mode just to name a few. Either way, Android N-ify requires smartphones running Android Lollipop or Marshmallow, and because it is a module for the Xposed framework, root access is also mandatory.