On Monday, Google opened the flood gates for Android 7.0 Nougat and started pushing out the final OTA for the new version of Android to the Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player and the Pixel C. Typically after a new version of Android is released, the code then gets uploaded to AOSP or the Android Open Source Project. This is because Android is indeed open source, meaning that developers can do whatever they want with the code – but remember that Google’s services aren’t open sourced. Today, Google began the upload process for Android 7.0 Nougat to AOSP. So later today, developers will be able to get started with Nougat and have some fun.
For the average user, this doesn’t mean a whole lot. As the upload to AOSP really doesn’t affect how Nougat runs on your Nexus device, or whether updates will be quicker. But for developers, it’s the complete opposite. Especially those that bake custom ROMs. Those custom ROMs like CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android and many others will be able to get started on creating custom ROMs using Android 7.0 Nougat as soon as the source is uploaded to AOSP. And that’s when the real fun begins, especially for those that like to tinker a bit with their Android device.
Android 7.0 Nougat has a slew of new features available for users. These include things like multi-window, faster multi-tasking and even seamless updates. Announced at Google I/O, seamless updates really got everyone’s attention. Essentially, what seamless updates will do is it will download your update and install it behind the scenes. So you shouldn’t need to reboot your smartphone and have it optimize apps again. This is a big deal, especially with these monthly security updates coming out, each and every month. And sometimes twice a month. Of course, as with any update to Android, there are numerous under-the-hood changes and fixes that are here to make Android 7.0 Nougat be the smoothest version of Android ever created. One of the bigger changes is to Doze, which will allow your phone to go into a deep sleep faster and stay there longer. Resulting in even better battery life.
If you are a developer and are interested in working with Nougat code once it is uploaded, head on over to the source link listed below, and you’ll be able to get started.