It seems that the new Nougat operating system is rather slow in joining its brethren, after being unveiled in August this year.
Nougat Updates
Nougat was released in August this year and news of updates are slowly but surely starting to roll in. Very recently, the OnePlus 3 and the Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge will also receive beta versions very soon. ZTE has also announced updates for its Axon 7 coming in January.
Slow in Joining
Some high profile phones, such as LG V20 and the Google Pixel, sporting the 7.1 Nougat version, have adopted Nougat. However, as far as all the other Android devices are concerned, it has been noticed that Nougat is rather slow in joining its brethren after the release in August this year.
Latest Stats
Recording devices that run the PlayStore application of Google has collected the statistics for the period ending on 7th of November. According to the statistics collected by the recording device, about 34% of the distribution is commanded by Lollipop OS, with KitKat 4.4 version coming up next at around 25%. This is followed by Marshmallow with a 24%. Marshmallow’s share has jumped since the middle of the year, as it was only 7.5 % at the time.
Nougat’s Share
Nougat has only a share of 0.3%, which places it in between the 0.1% of Froyo and the 1.3% of Gingerbread. The 7.1 version of the Pixel is not even on this list, as there is a footnote stating that all version that have a distribution of less than 0.1 % will not be mentioned.
Nougat New Features
Android Nougat does come with several new features not present in the previous versions of the operating system. However, it is not the ultimate update that users are looking for, as the top new features are only available for a new phone, with the best ones being available only for the Pixel phones.
Facing Facts
If your phone does not have the ‘G’ letter or the ‘Nexus’ word on its back, you have not yet received the Nougat update in all probability. As usual, the distribution is slow, as manufacturers like Samsung and Sony have taken time in adjusting the new operating system to their phones and devices. Mobile providers will slowly offer the new update to some of the users over the next few months and then distribute to all the users, so that everyone has Nougat. However, it is most likely that by the time all users have the Nougat update for their phones, the new Android 8 will be released.
Second Class Users
All Nexus device users rather feel like second-class users as far as the new Nougat version is concerned. The Nexus devices are one version behind and can only view taillights, as the new Pixel devices come with 7.1 version, whereas Nexus devices continue with the previous 7.0 version of Nougat. Google has, in essence, brought into existence a two Nougat society. The 7.1 version offered in Pixel devices have all the latest safety features. The Assistant is the killer feature, as it will ultimately offer the best interface between the user’s voice and services.