Google Android 7.0 Nougat Review - Review 2022

With the introduction of material design in Android 5.0 two years ago, Google's powerful and popular mobile operating system seemed to finally empathize what it was and where it was going. With Nougat, version 7.0 of the OS, the Android feel has been further refined with smart and subtle tweaks that make your device even more useful. A new split-screen view cements its ascendency in the earth of personal technology, and forthcoming virtual reality support means that the future of Android is a bright 1. It's not out on all the best Android phones yet, but it'south a strong statement for anyone buying their first device or looking to make the switch from Apple tree or Windows Phone.

N Is for New
Nougat launched in belatedly August 2022, and is currently available for the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Role player, and Pixel C devices. The first phone to ship with Nougat installed volition be the LG V20, which comes out in September. Other Android devices, such as Samsung's Galaxy line, will probable receive the update afterward. And many handsets won't receive it at all. That's fragmentation for you lot.

I've had a device enrolled in the Android developer beta version of Nougat since the program was appear. For this review, I installed the new operating system via an over-the-air update on a Nexus 6P ($80.00 at Amazon) , i of the best Android phones on the market today.

The Brilliance of Android
Visually, Nougat is a subtle update. But let me just put the most important news hither at the very elevation and say that Google has added support for Unicode 9 emoji, which adds 72 more tiny images, for a grand total of 1,500. These include new skin tones for certain emoji, making them reflect the existent world a little more than closely. I've long appreciated emoji both aesthetically and linguistically, and Google finally has parity with Apple'southward emoji offerings. Also, I happen to recall the beautiful, cartoony arroyo to emoji in Android far superior from Apple's inscrutable tiny glyphs. That said, the iPhone received new emoji long ago.

If y'all've looked at pure Android in the last few years, you'll feel right at dwelling at home on the desktop, which features a customizable spread of apps, as well equally folders of apps, for easy access. You can also add together widgets, which are smaller versions of apps that run on your desktop. You might add ane that gives a quick view of the Atmospheric condition Cloak-and-dagger app, for instance.

The customizability of the phone desktop is still one of the most obvious differences between Android and Apple'due south iOS 9. Even in the equally-withal unreleased iOS 10, apps still announced in a fixed grid and widgets are relegated to the Notifications pull-down. If iOS feels as well potent and rigid, the freedom and personality of Android is a stiff argument for the platform.

A archetype Android feature I really similar is the power to uninstall apps from the homepage by tapping and dragging them to the top of the screen. You can still tap the center apps button to view all the apps currently installed on your device, and search your apps from the search bar (because it is Google). A top bar shows the well-nigh recently used apps.

The Google Now voice search characteristic is nonetheless very much a office of Android. Merely say 'OK Google,' and you can ask your phone any question you would type into the search engine. Information technology can as well perform basic tasks on your phone, and even launch apps. Siri and Cortana may have more personality, but I beloved Google Now. The service has matured a lot, and it now feels much more than natural and user friendly.

Pull down from the height of the screen to open up the Notification pane, and here you outset to see some of the new features of Android Nougat. In Marshmallow, notifications appeared as thin strips, which could be dismissed with a swipe or activated with a tap. With Nougat, notifications are thicker and fill the width of the screen and feel more in line with Android's Material Design aesthetic.

The size of the notifications, both in the pulldown pane and on the lock screen, hint that more is afoot. Notifications from the same app are at present organized into bundles. Pull down on a notification bundle to expand information technology, showing more information and fifty-fifty allowing boosted actions. Slide the notification partway in either direction or give information technology a long press and you pull upwardly a bill of fare for specific notification actions, like blocking or muting notifications from that app. Swipe all the style left or right to dismiss the notification.

For example, pulling downwardly on a Gmail bundle reveals the sender and a preview. Pull on a specific message and it reveals the full text along with Respond and Archive buttons. It's a first-class experience, and I can definitely run across how it volition amend productivity for Android users. I'd similar to see future versions become farther, perhaps including a long swipe to annal email and a short swipe to snooze it, equally iOS does for lock-screen notifications. Y'all can also long press on any notification to change how frequently alerts from that app are displayed.

Bundling similar emails is a key feature of Google's Inbox by Gmail app, and a like characteristic exists for notifications in Marshmallow, in which notifications are grouped by the apps that generated them. Apple tree's iOS notifications take improved over the years, but Android Nougat surpasses Apple'southward arroyo and improves over Marshmallow's handling, besides. Even in what I've seen of iOS ten, notifications still seem surprisingly messy. Android has notifications figured out.

Nougat too lets you take more than deportment from a notification without exiting the app you're currently using. One of the most noticeable is replies. For case, yous tin now send a answer to a Google Hangouts bulletin right from the notification.

In my testing, I had no trouble responding to Hangouts letters from the notifications screen. All I had to exercise was tap the reply button, type my message in the field that opened, and press send. It felt very natural, and I like that I don't have to leave the app I'm currently using to transport a message. Note, nonetheless, that not all notifications accept this quick-reply feature. Hopefully we'll see it utilized in the best Android apps as Nougat rolls out. Note as well that Hangouts previously let you respond to messages from the notification, but the capability is now baked into the Os, where it belongs and where other apps can employ it. Apple iOS already has the ability to respond from inside notifications, and it's good to see Android heading in that direction every bit well.

If you keep pulling downward on the Notification menu, you open the notification shade, which in Nougat is more useful than ever. Here, yous see the usual quick-action shortcuts for Wi-Fi, mobile data, alerts, and the flashlight across the height. Pull down farther and these icons smoothly transition downwardly to the familiar Quick Settings options. A new Edit button gives you lot more control over which features are available here. Previous versions of Android let you not only toggle Wi-Fi on and off, merely also select which Wi-Fi network to use and were the kind of smart, simple features that make iPhone users drool with envy. I'm very happy to see Google adding even more such functionality in Android Nougat.

Just all these new notification features raise the historic period-former complaint that Android preferences are available from then many different locations. I think it's fine to modify how notifications function from the notification itself, simply I tin can see how less experienced users could exist confused nearly how to modify those settings again afterward the notification disappears.

Side past Side
The most dramatic new feature in Android Nougat is separate-screen display for apps, though this isn't the showtime time an Android device has included a split up-screen feel. Samsung has offered it equally a feature for years, but I've always been frustrated with how Samsung handles it. Generally, I'm reminded that the feature exists when I accidentally trigger it, and that'south about the only fourth dimension I use information technology.

The feel is far ameliorate in Android Nougat. Tap the bottom-right Task Manager push button, and you come across all the apps you currently have running. Tap and concord the app y'all want to split and and then drag it to the acme of the screen. That'due south it. The lesser half of the screen can be filled with another app, or it can simply show the bottom one-half of the abode screen.

You lot can adapt the size of your split up screens past tapping and dragging the thin black bar that separates the apps. Swipe upwards on the black bar and you lot exit Divide-Screen mode altogether. Best of all, if you split the screen vertically and then rotate your device, the divide smartly changes to a horizontal one. That's splendid. Even better is that both apps are agile. I tin can, for example, take a Chrome window open on one side and watch a YouTube video in the other.

Note that earlier versions of the developer preview only allowed i app to be agile and in focus at a time. Now, all the same, videos volition happily play in ane half while you lot interact with the other. Some other affair to note is that opening an app in Dissever-Screen mode occasionally warns yous that some apps may not piece of work in this mode. We'll probable run into fewer of those messages every bit Nougat and updated apps roll out. And while it's a trivial disconcerting to see that message on offset-party apps like YouTube, it'south a testament to the excellent work Google developers accept washed that this feature seems to work with any app without existence enabled by developers.

I specially like that the feature does not appear to be limited by device size. That would be a flake of a coup, since Apple has relegated its multitasking window feature called Split up View to high-end tablets such every bit the iPad Pro ( at Amazon) . Google's decision to brand this feature platform-agnostic strikes me as an excellent i, particularly since there is such a range of sizes in the Android globe.

When I first tested the programmer preview, I was annoyed how summoning the keyboard while while my screen was divide horizontally cut off so much of the viewable area. It's ameliorate in the final release, only still not ideal. The on-screen keyboard is also awkward in the vertical configuration, too. I imagine that the bigger your screen, the better your experience is going to exist. If you're hoping to have notes while watching a video, it tin be done, but information technology won't be the best experience. Handset users will observe this feature useful, especially phablet users, but information technology'due south a feature that will really shine on any of the best Android tablets.

While I don't see myself using this feature much, I can run across the advantages of multitasking windows. With multiple apps in view, you lot tin can easily movement information amidst apps without having to do all that tiresome jumping effectually in the multitasking manager. If you've ever been trying to brand notes from a Web page, or consult a certificate while writing an e-mail, your life is about to become a whole lot better. This is the kind of interaction usually restricted to desktops and laptops, and information technology's exciting to see it come up to Android. It's also notable that some tertiary-party apps like Netflix (Free at Apple tree.com) are able to take advantage of split up-screen views without being specifically updated. It'south a great implementation of a tricky concept, merely I wonder how ofttimes it will really exist used, particularly on smaller screens. Maybe Apple tree's decision to reserve it for larger screens is the right approach.

Looking through the Android developer information, you lot come across references to picture-in-picture functionality. Unfortunately, it seems that this feature is limited to TVs and devices such as the Nexus Histrion ($89.99 at eBay) . I hope to see it make a full debut before long to counter the latest iPads, which support streaming video in a picture-in-picture multitasking view.

A side annotation well-nigh Android screen sizes: As with iOS, some apps are intended for tablets or handheld smartphones. Only more often than not, Android apps will work on pretty much any size device, whereas Apple tends to have strong delineation between iPad and iPhone apps. Unless the iOS app is a universal app, iPhone apps don't look great on iPads and iPad-specific apps don't work on iPhones. A notable contempo exception to Android'southward app flexibility is, ironically, the Apple tree Music app, which just works on Android phones.

Doing More With Less
While Nougat is rolling out for a small set of phones, users on older devices with enfeebled batteries will also get some benefits from Nougat—if and when it's available for them. Google has expanded the Doze functionality, which previously put devices into a deep, battery-saving sleep when they were stationary and locked. Now, Doze works on the go, pausing processes and saving your battery power when the screen is off and your device is in your pocket or a handbag—it no longer needs to be stationary. This strikes a balance between availability and efficiency.

Nougat users on limited data plans will surely appreciate the Data Saver features. When enabled, Data Saver shuts down access to cellular information to any apps that are nonetheless running simply not in view. If, for case, you were to motion from Chrome to YouTube without closing Chrome, Information Saver would turn off Chrome's cellular access until you brought it back into view. It'due south a small tweak, but one that could add together up to big data savings.

A new setting option for brandish size lets you zoom the unabridged Android experience, non just text size. This volition be a huge accessibility boon for any users challenged by the size of near screen text, one that takes advantage of the increased screen existent manor bachelor on most devices.

Behind the Scenes
While most of united states of america are here for the flagship features and fancy new effects, at that place are a few other things going on under the hood that volition appeal to Android power users and app creators. The biggest addition for developers is the inclusion of Java viii. This lets developers have reward of new tools and processes for making new apps.

As a journalist and a reviewer, I spend an inordinate amount of fourth dimension in the Android Settings app, and I appreciate the changes Google has brought to this humble, yet essential, component in Nougat. As with the All Apps view in Marshmallow, the Settings app now shows suggestions at the top of the screen. If you lot've activated certain condition-irresolute features, such as Practise Not Disturb mode, that volition appear here, also. Android is becoming more responsive to how you lot, individually, employ your phone, and it'due south a great affect.

Moving through the Settings carte has frequently been an experience of tapping through endless screens, but no more. Swipe right from the left border and a hidden tray opens with easy navigation to the rest of the Settings app, wherever you are. It'due south excellent.

Practise yous spend fourth dimension in the Android file browser? Probably not. But for the handful of you that do, it has been improved since the previous version. Unfortunately, information technology's still buried inside the Settings menu. Nougat also brings back the popular Night Mode in the System UI Tuner, along with manual RGB scale.

Many Android developers are also excited almost Vulkan, a graphics API intended to deliver high performance with low overhead. You won't encounter Vulkan itself, but y'all might notice more than intense 3D games showing upwardly in the Google Play store.

Google had previously shown the ability for developers to create action-specific shortcuts to the dwelling screen with Android Nougat. These would allow you trigger a specific part inside an app straight from your abode screen. They are not part of the current release, all the same. If and when they exercise roll out, I'm curious to run into if these shortcuts volition actually be more useful than widgets already available in Android.

How Rubber Is Nougat?
On the security side, Nougat introduces Direct Kicking and file-based encryption. The onetime allows apps to offset up in the groundwork before you unlock your device, but without exposing your personal information. The latter is a smarter approach to encryption that encrypts your device at the file level. You won't see either of these in action, but know that your phone is safer.

Only by far the biggest security update is one hopefully no one volition discover: Updates will be handled seamlessly, for devices that support them (see beneath). Instead forcing you to manually download and install updates and then wait for apps to be optimized, Google will quietly download new software into a carve up partition and then bandy out your OS experience for the new i.

This is the same approach that Google has taken for Chrome Bone, and its inclusion on Android volition exist a welcome relief from the frequent security patches being applied to the operating system. Those frequent security updates are smashing, and Google deserves a lot of credit for non only working faster to patch Android just now rolling out a system that will ensure that more users become these disquisitional software updates. Unfortunately, we won't know how well it works until Google releases its first update for Android Nougat.

Seamless updates will exist limited only to devices that ship with Nougat installed. Information technology doesn't seem like it will solve the general problem of carriers and manufacturers slowing downwards major Android updates.

Early on, Android was derided by security experts as the Wild West of mobile. That's changed in recent years, despite discoveries like the Stagefright exploit. In improver to more than and faster security updates, Google has quietly rolled out tools that allows the company to monitor apps downloaded from outside the Google Play store and help stop malicious activity before it starts. Apple remains synonymous with a secure mobile experience, but the security of Android has been greatly improved in contempo years.

What's (Still) Missing
The biggest announcement at Google I/O this year was the Google banana, a new epitome for how you collaborate with search. The idea is for more than of a ambience, Siri or Echo-similar experience. The flagship for this new approach is the text messaging app Allo, which is not bundled with Nougat and has non launched as of this writing. Duo, a ane-to-one video calling app and companion to Allo, has launched, just is not bundled with Nougat. For now, Google Hangouts is nevertheless the name of the game.

The forthcoming iOS x looks set to put messaging at the forefront, raising the game with Facebook Messenger-style stickers and other adornments. Apple is also planning to open the Messages app to include content from other apps, a radical departure for the visitor. Hangouts and the default text messaging app for Android still work serviceably, and Allo may be a game changer, simply Apple is placing more than accent on the unique experience of its first-party apps.

Another as-yet-unreleased piece of Nougat is Fantasize, which is what Google is calling the Android support for virtual reality. Google has been playing around with VR ever since it quietly launched its Cardboard project several years ago. Fantasize will reportedly exist different, with born Os back up, and a special itemize of VR apps and content. At Google I/O 2022, we got a peek at what'south coming, such every bit smart notifications that will make sense while the phone is in VR manner, and news that some core Project Tango applied science would be integrated into Daydream, but piddling besides.

The problem with Daydream is that it hinges on special hardware, including headgear that sticks phones to your face, and phones that are deemed "Daydream capable." Other manufacturers will partner with Google to put out apps, Fantasize hardware, and Daydream capable phones, only Google has promised it will provide first-party solutions too. Google has said to expect more in the autumn of 2022. That's a shame, since it's a major facet of Nougat that's simply missing in activeness. That said, the offset Daydream capable phone, the Axon 7 VR, exists.

Meanwhile, both Apple tree and Microsoft take made convergence a key characteristic. With each iteration, Apple tree devices go more tightly entwined with features like a universal clipboard letting you cut text on your iPhone and paste on to your iMac.

With its Windows Phone and Microsoft Surface ($574.95 at Amazon) devices, Microsoft has completely blurred the line between desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. Windows 10 ($139.00 at Microsoft Store) devices are now meant to work everywhere, as tablets, laptops, phones, and fifty-fifty desktops. The concept hasn't been fully realized (partly because Windows Phone keeps faltering), but Microsoft has come the closest to true convergence.

For its role, Google has eschewed this strategy. Although Chrome OS is still making strides every bit a traditional figurer OS, information technology'south becoming more like Android and even runs Android apps. Instead of converging experiences, Google seems to be working toward an ambient search experience with the Google assistant. It'due south frustrating that there is withal so little interoperability between my Nexus and my laptop. The Chrome browser would be a perfect foothold! It'southward even more than frustrating when the Google assistant strategy is still just a vague notion.

A Chewy Update
Despite all the good there is in Nougat, the perennial trouble of Android fragmentation needs to be addressed. Co-ordinate to Google's ain study, only xv.2 pct of Android devices run version vi, which is less than the 16.7 percent that currently run version three.three. Meanwhile, a whopping 64.vii percent are running either version iv or 5. Compare this with the 87 percentage of iPhone users that have upgraded to iOS 9, less than a year afterward it launched.

Android'due south smashing diversity of hardware may be a strength, only, when combined with its broad range of operating systems found in the wild, information technology hasn't helped the developer community. We're sick of saying information technology and Android users are sick of hearing information technology and living it, but this leads to iPhone users still getting more and better apps than Android.

A new contraction to the Android equation is Daydream, which has the potential to button Android into the world of VR. Apple has zippo like it, and though Microsoft'southward HoloLens is cool, it's not for consumers notwithstanding. The impact this will take on Android, and the rest of the mobile globe, hinges on too many unknowns. With every bit-yet unreleased apps and hardware add-ons, Daydream is notwithstanding just that—a dyadream. Unfortunately, the same can be said nigh many of Nougat'due south almost exciting features: Seamless updates are limited to forthcoming devices, and the Google assistant remains confusingly opaque and noticeably missing. Shortcuts, too, accept nonetheless to brand their appearance.

These complaints withal, Nougat is an excellent improver to Android and a guidepost for the future of mobile operating systems. Over the last vi versions, Google has hashed out the difficult work of building the infrastructure to run billions of Android devices. It's been refined and polished to a shine, and Nougat adds the kind of subtle usability tweaks like improved notifications and customization that keep Android from losing footstep with how real humans employ their smartphones. Keyboard bug aside, split-screen multitasking is handled better on Android than whatever other mobile device, and improved controls for ability and data let software practise what hardware can't always manage.

Google Android 7.0 Nougat is an Editors' Choice winner for mobile operating systems, an award information technology shares with Apple iOS ix.

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Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/android-apps/11023/google-android-70-nougat-review

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