Google I/O 2017 Preview: Everything You Need to Know About Android O Feature

Google I/O 2017 is just around the corner. The schedule for the first few sessions and the agenda have been released. The first set of sessions would take place from May 17th through 19th. Among the many topics that are to be discussed, the popular ones that have long been anticipated are Android O, Firebase, and Android Auto.

When the developer preview of Android O was first released by the company in March, the buzz around the new update began. The developer preview depicted that the focus has primarily been enhanced multitasking capabilities and improved battery performance.

The conference is set to talk about the new update. When we talk about Android updates, one main aspect to notice is the improvement in the notifications and Android O also comes with a lot of improvements. There would also be a dedicated discussion on the modifications implemented in notifications with the new update that’s coming.

So what is Oreo bringing?

Your battery would be happy!

If you have closed all your apps, if you have reduced multitasking in your smartphone, if you are tired of staying in the power save mode, then the new update from Android brings you good news! There are going to be some restrictions on the background app usage. This would prevent apps from running in the background and draining your phone battery. Though the OS might not force kill all background applications, there would be a significant reduction in the number of processes that are run, mainly the broadcasts, update of location and background services.

Be notified in style:

Notifications are going to be better with Android O. The major tweak is the categorization of notifications. The feature that Google calls “notification channels” will allow developers to categorize the apps and thus their corresponding notifications. So you don’t have to frown at the long list of notifications every time you pull down the notification bar.

Sleek video viewing experiences:

With PiP (picture in picture) mode, users would be able to still keep videos running while they perform other tasks. Your video would keep playing in a smaller window overlapping the current app. When you wish to keep the video playing, there would be a floating window that can be resized and positioned anywhere on the screen as you continue drafting your email or browsing Facebook or do any other task on the phone.

Easy auto-fill option:

If you liked the auto-fill option in your browsers, you would soon find them in your phone as well. Just like you select a keyboard, you could also have a prefilled autofill form that you can select. Name, address, passwords and more can now be stored beforehand thanks to the autofill API that comes included in Android O.

NAN may be available:

With the pressing demands for proximity based experiences, Wi-Fi alliances are evolving. The new Google update would also incorporate this. NAN (neighborhood aware network) might be supported. This would allow devices to connect and communicate even without the need for an internet connectivity at the core. Though this feature has not been confirmed, we can expect it to be soon available on Android.

What else would Google I/O cover?

Android O which is being rolled out after almost a year since the release of Nougat for developers, is not the biggest update yet. There are going to be evolutionary tweaks rather than including major revolutions as yet. But more about this OS update would be revealed and discussed in the conference. The other topics that would also be covered include:

• Firebase- to help developers gain a full insight into Firebase. The session would also focus on helping developers tap the full potential of Firebase in app development.

• Google’s IoT would be the next big thing discussed. Android Things, Google Assistant, Android Auto and lot more are offered by Google to fulfill its vision of ubicomp as a part of establishing Internet of Things. There is also a session on the security features of Android Things. This is because security is a growing concern in Internet of Things.

• Fabric has become part of Google and Google has been working hard to integrate it in numerous ways. The sessions would also cover how Firebase and Fabric can make Android apps better.