Now that Google has slowed down the way that major updates are released to Android, with one major release hitting each and every year, it can feel like a long time between Android updates, even more so for those that don’t have a Nexus or Pixel device. For Samsung users, they’ll be hoping that despite all of the Galaxy Note 7 fallout, the South Korea firm is hard at work to bring Android 7.0 Nougat to the device, with Android 7.1 following swiftly behind. We first heard of Samsung testing an update to Android 7.0 Nougat for the Galaxy S7 Edge a month or two ago, and we also got word of the new Grace UX coming along with it. The Grace UX was the tweaked and updated version of TouchWiz that ran on the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, and given that the Galaxy S7 Edge was a flagship-level device as well, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that this would be trickling down to the Galaxy S7 line. Now, we’ve got out first look at the new update.
SamMobile have managed to get their hands on some screenshots of the new update to Android 7.0 Nougat, which of course includes the new Grace UX, too. As we can see from the gallery – as well as the videos – below, it looks like the new update will bring an even more minimal look and feel to the software on the Galaxy S7 Edge. The screenshots show us a look at the notification shade and toggles, while the shorter video shows it in motion, and there appears to be a much more fluid and natural movement to the whole software, which will appeal to those looking for a smoother experience. Elsewhere, things appear to be much the same, but there are a lot of subtle changes here, including more white space, less onscreen and a general speed boost for the most part.
In the UK, the beta test of Android 7.0 Nougat for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge kicks off this week, and is set to end at some point during December, which could mean an update to Android 7.0 Nougat is to land before the year is out, but a more realistic time frame would of course be early 2017.
