Like every March every year since the past few years, Google gave a glimpse of its next generation Android OS as part of developer preview following an official introduction in May at Google IO.
This year Google has introduced the first developer preview of Android P. The Tech major also mentioned some features the new OS will bring on to the upcoming smartphones.
This version is only for developers and not end users or consumers. The exercise is meant to use the platform to generate feedback for improvements for the Android OS.
‘Display cutout support’ is one of the most interesting feature revealed. What this means is that Android P will let apps take advantage of the entire 18:9 aspect ratio screen smartphones along with a cutout for the camera and speaker
Dave Burke, VP of Engineering, Android, Google stated that cutout support worked seamlessly for apps, and if one had critical immersive content he could also use the new API’s to check the cutout shape and request full screen layout around it.
iPhone X also has a similar feature. Cementing the speculations is the Asus Zenfone 5 and the 5Z that shamelessly copy the iPhone X notch design. Following in line are Huawei P20 and OnePlus 6 as was indicated by some leaks.
The Android P will also support the IEEE 802.11mc WiFi protocol which is supposed to help developers take advantage of indoor positioning in apps.
The Android P brings the new Messaging Style notification style which highlights who is messaging and how one can reply. Users will be able to see images in messages and the avatar of the person sending it.
Android P will let developers deliver HDR-enabled movies to users from YouTube, Play Movies and other platforms. Also included is support for HEIF image encoding which means images will take less space and data to transfer while maintaining the image quality.
Android P Developer Preview is available for testing on the official Android Emulator and on Pixel, Pixel XL Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL devices.
