The Google I/O 2016 event has brought in quite a number of revelations, be it the Allo chat app, Daydream VR platform or Instant Apps. However, all of these new products announced are nowhere near the public’s reach, at least for now.
At the same event, Google announced a public beta version of Android N – an OS that saw its developer preview version unveiled earlier than usual. Apparently, the event revealed some more details about this upcoming operating system, but as for the name, the waiting game will keep on. However, Google has left the field open for users to decide what the name of its next OS will be.
Still, there is one major update that the new Android N brings to the fold – Automated security updates. What this means is that devices running on Android N will be able to automatically download and install security updates from the background without the intervention of the device’s owner. As a result, you may end up seeing some new changes whenever you restart your device thanks to the secretly installed updates. Rather than patch the system, what this feature does is install a new and more secure version of the OS on the device.
A page from Chrome OS’ books
This is not the first time Google is coming in with seamless updates. In fact, Android N will be borrowing this feature from the highly successful Chrome OS that powers the company’s Chromebooks.
Even though Google will be baking this ability right into Android N out of the box, the idea of enabling it or not will still remain on vendors of these devices. If they have any sense at all, they’ll leave it at that such that updates are automatically installed on all Android devices. Otherwise, we might have the same problem where updates take ages before reaching out to Android OEM partners.
Other features that will be coming with Android N include split-screen view, something that has already been availed on iOS. However, you will have to update all apps such that the versions in place are customized for the new OS’s experience. The OS also adds the ability to reply to messages directly from the notification panel as well as update the recently used app menu such that it only displays the last seven apps to be used on the phone. Android N also introduces a “Clear All” option that will let users clear all active apps in one instance.