Google had started rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat to Nexus devices at the end of August. Back then, quite a few people thought that Android 7.0 Nougat will come pre-installed on Google’s Pixel devices, but it turns out that’s not the case, the Google Pixel and Pixel XL ship with Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box, and that update brings along quite a few new features. Having that in mind, Google had started rolling out Android 7.1.1 Nougat Developer Preview quite recently to Nexus devices, and it seems like some features are missing in this update, read on.
Since the first Android N Developer Preview, we were able to use one really useful gesture in order to call upon Google’s Multi-Window feature, all you had to do is swipe up from the ‘Overview’ (multitasking) on-screen button in order to launch Multi-Window mode. That feature is available on the Google Pixel and Pixel XL which are running Android 7.1 Nougat, but it seems like it is missing from Android 7.1.1 Nougat Developer Preview, which is quite interesting. It is worth noting that this feature needed to be enabled in the ‘System UI Tuner’ though (in earlier Android N Developer Preview builds, and Android 7.0 Nougat), so it possible that Google just decided to promote this feature, to make it a stable feature, not just an experimental one. On the other hand, it is possible that the company decided to remove the feature altogether, which would be a shame considering it was quite useful. We do believe that the former scenario is more likely, however, and that this feature will be available once Android 7.1.1 Nougat (stable version) starts rolling out to devices, though we’re only guessing, of course.
This is only one of many Android 7.1 and 7.1.1 Nougat features we’ve talked about in the last couple of weeks, and you can expect more such information to surface in the coming days / weeks, as Google did change some things in Android 7.1(.1) compared to Android 7.0 Nougat which was released about two months ago. In any case, stay tuned, we’ll keep you posted, as per usual.
UPDATE: It seems like only the toggle is present on Android 7.1 Nougat on the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, but the feature itself is not working. So, what’s going on? Did Google forget to remove the toogle or? We’ll find out once Android 7.1.1 Nougat starts rolling out.