Android is, by far, the most popular operating system for smartphones. Google released the latest version Android Oreo (8.0) not very long ago. It’s yet to arrive in all the devices. However, we’re going to see the next generation of Android OS – Android P (9.x). Google made the announcement about Android P very recently. We can expect that the OS will arrive in August or September this year. Currently, Android P is available in the developer preview.
Google made lots of changes in the new system. The entire new feature list is very long and available on Android Developers Blog. This is a big article and I always find out reading them quite boring. For you, here’s the short version of the entire story.
New features
Android P offers quite a bunch of awesome features. Let’s take a look what is in the box.
- Better integrity with notched displays, like that of iPhone X. The new API will help devs to create apps with better functionality with cutout displays.
- Notification – You can interact with the notification app from within the notification bar, no need to open the entire app.
- A new API allowing apps to get data from both of the cameras.
- Camera stabilization APIs improved.
- The HDR VP9 codec is now supported.
- HEIF image compression format is now available.
- New functions for better image scaling.
- Support for the Wi-Fi Round-Trip-Time (RTT). Using this feature, you can identify your position inside your room. This function uses the signal strength and Wi-Fi SSID to determine your location.
- Performance improvements with a better ART (Android Runtime).
- Users will get a notification when installing apps designed for Android v4.2 or older versions.
- Better Kotlin support. It’s now made into the official programming language for Android.
- Power efficiency. The latest Android releases are quite focused on the battery life and it continues on Android P with improved App Standby, background limits and Doze.
Security features
Security is a very important factor in smartphones. We saw some serious bugs last year. Android P offers a good collection of new security features. Here’s the short list.
- HTTP is no longer the king. HTTPS is the new norm for network connectivity.
- Background apps will be blocked from having access to microphone and cameras.
- Before sending the backups to Google’s server, Android will encrypt the entire backup file with a local secret key.
- Experimental – random MAC address supported.
Take a look at the official video of the Android P features.
If you’re a developer or an advanced user ready to experience the new Android system, you can get Android P from here. The official Android P images are for Google Pixel devices, so unless you own one, you need to wait a few months. Otherwise, you can get the experience on your desktop using the Android SDK.
If you’re a security-concerned person, you can ensure your device’s safety very easily. Follow these simple Android security tricks to stay safe from almost all the type of security threats.
