Android 7.0 Nougat review: Google tweaks its OS with an eye on the future

 

After nearly six months of beta testing, Android 7.0 Nougat is being pushed out to the most recent Nexus devices from this week. What goodies and new features does Google's latest mobile OS have in store? And how will it change your phone? We've been putting the software to the test since March and here's what we've found.

What you notice first about Nougat is how little there is to notice. Unlike Apple, Google doesn't update its main apps at the same time as its mobile OS, and the Material Design principles introduced in Android 5.0 Lollipop have only been given slight tweaks. Even Google Now gets updated independently of Android these days.

That leaves the system settings, a bunch of under-the-hood tweaks, and a few extras (like emoji) as the main upgrades arriving with the seventh major Android version. Don't expect a massive difference after you've got the new software installed – at least on the surface – but it's well worth having nonetheless.

 

Look and feel

 

The ever-useful Quick Settings pane gets improved and can now be customizedWhat visual flourishes there are, we like. Notifications are now grouped by app and look tidier on screen as well. There are other small touches, like quick info bars on the Settings page: You can see how much battery is left before tapping on the Battery menu, for instance, or what the ringer volume is set to before you go into the Sound menu.

Notifications are easier to respond to as well – drag down on an alert to see quick responses added by the developer (you can reply in Hangouts and Archive in Gmail for example). There's a new Clear All button at the bottom if you want to dismiss the whole stack of notifications at once. Much as we like iOS as well, it feels like Android has notifications figured out better at the moment.

There are a few small improvements like this, such as the fluid way the Quick Settings pane expands when you pull it down from the top. For the first time you can edit this pane yourself without any third-party apps or hidden system tweaks (or using customized versions of Android, like Samsung's), so you can choose which icons are shown and how they're arranged on screen.

Notifications are grouped by app and take up more space to fit together better on screen 

Bear in mind we've been using the beta versions of Android 7.0 Nougat, and in most cases before any apps have been upgraded to match it, but even so the mobile OS has been a breeze to use on our Nexus 6, particular in the recent builds. Whatever Google is doing to make animations and actions snappier, it's working.

One of the most notable new features is support for a split-screen view, accessed from the Overview (app switching) screen. It's going to be most useful for those on Android tablets, but even on the Nexus 6 it occasionally comes in handy: keeping two websites open at once, say, or making notes from an incoming message.

A double-tap on the Overview/Recent Apps button switches back to your most recent app in Nougat, so flicking between two apps (the one you're using and the one you just left) is easier. It's another example of the small tweaks in Nougat that you're going to enjoy discovering, once the update finally lands on your phone.

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Batman-inspired software can give any phone pressure-sensing abilities

 

One of the features announced when the the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were released that got the tech world buzzing was 3D Touch, the ability for the phone's screen to recognize how much force you're applying to it and respond accordingly with different navigation options. Now, inspired by a scene from a 2008 Batman movie, engineers from the University of Michigan (UM) have developed software that could bring touch sensitivity to all phones – and not just through their screens.

The latest Apple flagship phones achieve their touch magic through capacitive sensors embedded beneath the glass. The concept from UM creates pressure sensitivity in a completely different way – through software that uses any phone's speaker and microphone.

It works by playing a tone out of the phone's speaker at a frequency above 18 kHz. While humans aren't able to hear sounds in this range (we can't speak for your dog), the phone's microphone can pick up the vibrations caused by the tone. Then, when someone touches the phone in a certain way, the tone is naturally altered. The engineers say that the software can measure the changes to the tone and convert them into actions – squeezing your phone to dial an emergency number, for example.

Of course, this project might be of more interest for its creativity than any practical application.

Questions definitely arise over just how sensitive the system could really be and how it would distinguish deliberate touch from changes in the tone that might come from pressure in your pocket. Also, a phone that plays a tone through its speaker constantly just might drain your battery a little faster than usual. Plus, now that Apple has broken through the touch-sensitive barrier, you have to imagine that Android models aren't far behind, so there will likely come a day in the not too distant future when all phones come with pressure-sensing abilities, making a software-based workaround quickly irrelevant

Still, the idea of deriving hand pressure input on a phone using nothing but a mic and speaker is certainly a fun one.

And, speaking of fun, software co-inventor Yu-Chih Tung says he was inspired in part to create the system based on the sequence in the 2008 Batman movie The Dark Knight, when the Big Bad Bat turns all smartphones in Gotham into a sonar system used to track the Joker.

"I thought it was an interesting idea to turn smartphones into a sonar-based system and felt this could lead to new applications to address challenges faced by smartphone users," Tung says.

Tung and doctoral student Kang Shin, who worked together on the software, are no strangers to developing phone software. They've previously designed an app that warns people of obstructions in their paths; one that monitors how tones are reflected back to phones to execute commands, like entering silent mode when placed on a nightstand; and one that could extend battery life by as much as 54 percent by reducing power the power consumed by a phone's time spent in what's known as "idle listening." We suppose that makes them something of a dynamic duo.

Tung and Kang will be presenting their software, which they call ForcePhone, in Singapore on June 27-29 at MobiSys 2016, the Association for Computing Machinery's international mobile systems and applications conference.

Until then, you can check out the UM video below for a look at the software in action.

 

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Android's new Instant Apps jump straight to your phone, no installation required

 

We're at Google's 2016 I/O event, the annual showcase for some of its upcoming software innovations, and one of those innovations is Instant Apps for Android. Instant Apps let you download and use part of an app without permanently installing it, and there are a whole range of ways that could prove useful.

The apps Google showcased on stage here in Mountain View were for shopping and video. If you see something you like in a Google search, for example, you can tap through to the retailer's app and purchase it without installing anything; or you could check out a video embedded inside a mobile app without having to clutter up your phone with another download you're only going to use once.

From the live demo we saw, Instant Apps install part of an app's code and then remove it after you've finished. For all those times when you only use an app once – apps tied to a specific event or venue, or perhaps a link sent to you in a message – Instant Apps have the potential to save a lot of installing and uninstalling.

 

In some ways the Instant App approach replaces the experience of going to a mobile website to carry out the same kind of actions. You get all the benefits of a native app (a slicker interface and faster, often smoother, UI loading) without ending up with dozens of installed apps gathering virtual dust.

 

It's not going to be suitable for all apps and it's also going to require a bit of extra work on the part of developers, but users should see the benefit (and developers might end up with more users inside their apps one way or another). Only the code required to run the part of the app you need is downloaded to your device.

It also means plug-ins like Android Pay are embedded and ready to go, something that wouldn't necessarily be the case if you visited a mobile webpage. Google says the functionality will be available soon, and when it is, it's going to work with all versions of Android all the way back to Jelly Bean.

We've also seen a brand new smart home device and a VR platform based on Android at I/O. Stay tuned to Gizmag for more news and announcements from the event as it unfolds.

 

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Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Subaru get on board with Linux Foundation

 

The Linux Foundation began a new initiative in 2012 called Automotive Grade Linux as an open-source project to develop common Linux-based software cores for connected cars. Now major automakers like Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Subaru have joined AGL alongside existing members Toyota, Nissan, and Jaguar Land Rover.

The AGL has announced a new Unified Code Base (UCB) distribution built specifically for automotive. This ground-up build was designed to address the needs of the connected car.

The new UCB is aimed at becoming a standard for the industry to allow developers and carmakers to use this Linux-based software stack as a foundation for their in-vehicle software suites. Collaboration with a global community of open-source developers can help automakers quickly advance new connected car applications.

Consumers familiar with the infotainment interface found in Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will have already seen AGL at work. Jaguar is a Linux Foundation board member and has used Linux-based infotainment for several years now.

The structure of the AGL distribution allows for it to be the architectural foundation for several applications within a vehicle. These include the instrument cluster, heads up displays, telematics, and more. It can also be tailored towards smart navigation, communications, safety, and security.

Initially, the new AGL distribution supports the Renesas-CAR platforms, Intel-based boards for in-car use, and QEMU x86. Others are to be added. With participation from suppliers, automakers, and developers, the AGL design can be utilized for most major systems and components on the market.

The AGL UCB will be featured at CES 2016 as part of the GENIVI CES 2016 Demonstration Showcase with demonstrations of HVAC control, navigation, radio and media players.

 

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