Google had introduced the newest version of Android earlier today, Android 8.0 Oreo, and along with the new OS, the company also shared some OS update information for the existing Pixel and Nexus devices. Google said that it will start rolling out Android 8.0 Oreo to the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, and the Nexus Player in the immediate future. The company said that the sources of AOSP (Android Open Source Project) are rolling out today, and that the update for Pixel and Nexus phones has entered carrier testing. Google also mentioned that the update will be rolled out in phases, as per usual, so it may take a while for some of you to get it after the company starts rolling it out. Nokia, Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola, Sony, Essential, General Mobile, Huawei, Kyocera, and Sharp will all have some of their devices updated to Android 8.0 Oreo in the near future, Google confirmed.
Having said that, Google had released four Developer Preview Android O builds before the company finally unveiled Android 8.0 Oreo earlier today and the public didn’t even know what the new version will be called before today’s announcement. Android 8.0 Oreo is not exactly a complete overhaul of Android, or anything of the sort, but it’s a worthy new build which brings forth a number of new features, as it builds upon Android 7.X Nougat’s success. Google has finally brought the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode to Android smartphones, which will let you to run two apps at once on a single screen and will give you far more freedom than Split Screen does, as you’ll be able to make a small window out of a YouTube video, for example, and run that in the upper right corner of your display (or any other part of your display) while you’re doing something completely different.
In addition to the Picture-in-Picture mode, Google had also introduced Notification Dots, which will signal if you have a new notification in a particular app. If you, for example, get a new e-mail, and are using the Gmail app, you will see a small dot on top of that app icon, and if you long-press the app icon, you will be able to see the summary of that e-mail, and will also be able to open it from there. Android 8.0 Oreo also comes with Google Play Protect built in, in order to increase overall security, and this new version of Android will also help you minimize unintentional overuse of battery in the background from apps that tend to consume lots of battery, like Facebook’s official app, for example. These are only some changes, of course, you can read more about everything in our official Android 8.0 Oreo announcement.