The five Android N developer previews gave us a great look at future Android 7.0 Nougat features, which at this point looks like it will drop on Monday, August 22. Of course, developer previews quite often contain features that don’t make it to the final release and there’s plenty more stuff that Google might have added since the last developer preview. Based on the various dev previews (which we’ve broken down individually below), public statements and credible leaks, we’ve compiled all the Android 7.0 features you can expect to see in the next Android version.
All the latest Android 7.0 Nougat update news
Download the new Android Nougat wallpaper
Download the leaked Nexus Launcher here
Confirmed Android Nougat features:
Android Nougat release date
Based on several carrier leaks, the Android 7.0 Nougat release date looks to be Monday, August 22; at least for recent Nexus devices with other OEMs rolling out updates in the weeks and months to come. Take a look at our Android Nougat update schedule for more details on when you’re likely to see it. As always, Google won’t make a big song and dance of the new version, it will likely just casually appear as factory images, OTA images and a new section on the Android version page.
This year, rather than wait until Google I/O 2016, Google decided to release the first Android N developer preview on March 9, two full months earlier than expected. The Android N preview went live for the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 (Wi-Fi and LTE), Nexus Player and Pixel C on the Android Developers site. The first beta release candidate appeared during Google I/O on May 18, 2016.
It looks like the Android 7.0 Nougat release date will be Monday, August 22.
The Android 7.0 Nougat release date was confirmed for Q3, 2016 a long while back and recent carrier leaks from Telus in Canada and Optus in Australia have listed a “late August” launch (Optus) and August 22 specifically (Telus). Last year, Telus accurately leaked the launch date for Android Marshmallow.
The 2016 Nexus devices
We can’t say for sure that Sailfish and Marlin/the Nexus 6P (2016) and Nexus 5X (2016) – or whatever they will be called this year – will be arriving on the same date as Nougat but it seems unlikely considering the lack of concrete leaks we’ve seen to this point. It’s more likely that the 2016 Nexuses, both of which will be made by HTC, will come a little later than Nougat, but probably still earlier than in previous years.
For reference, the Nexus 4 was announced on October 29, the Nexus 5 on October 31, the Nexus 6 on October 15, the Nexus 5X and 6P on September 29. So we might see this year’s Nexuses earlier in September rather than the end of the month if the progressively earlier announcement dates are anything to go by. But again, your guess is as good as ours.
Latest Android Nougat leaks
Fortunately for us, there has been a steady stream of pre-release leaks regarding Android Nougat and the new Nexuses. It’s important to note that some of the leaks you may have seen recently will likely be Nexus-only features and not be common to all devices running Android Nougat.
Google has already spoken about offering special software features only on the Nexuses in what we can only imagine is Google’s idea of actually “promoting” its device line. Some of those features include navigation control via fingerprint scanner gestures, new Google Assistant features,
August 16: Nougat preview program heading to the LG G5
August 12: Samsung confirms Nougat for the Note 7 in 2-3 months
August 1: LG V20 confirmed as the first phone to launch with Nougat
July 29: The Android 7.0 preview leaked for the Huawei P9
July 20: Android Nougat won’t boot if you have malware
July 20: The Android team’s Reddit AMA highlights
For a walk down memory lane, check out our breakdown of each Developer Preview below. You can track the features that appeared, those that disappeared and those that ever-so-briefly made it to the light of day, only to be deferred for a later release (like the long-awaited Dark Mode). It’s actually a pretty fascinating insight into how the developer preview process works: front-load and then slowly refine and remove.
Android N Developer Preview 5:
Quick Settings toggle behavior fixed
As you may recall, in the last dev preview, the familiar toggle on/off action for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the Quick Settings was removed. In its place, tapping the toggles launched the menu screen for each setting. This, naturally, infuriated Android users everywhere to such a frightening degree that Google immediately promised to fix it. That has happened in dev preview 5 and we can all sleep easily at night once again.
Cat-catching Easter Egg
While this isn’t exactly the most significant thing to be found in the fifth and final dev preview, it is the most fun. The Android N Easter Egg is a peculiar cat-catching game based on pre-Pokémon GO-era cat-catching game Neko Atsume (Neko meaning “cat” in Japanese). The premise is simple: lay out treats for cats, who will intermittently drop by (in your notifications) for a feed. “Catch” them and share with your friends. That seems to be it (for now) but we’ll see how this one develops.
App source now shown in App info
While the functionality has been laying dormant in Android for a long time, dev preview 5 now surfaces the source information for apps. This means that when you tap App Info for a particular app, the OS will display whether it was installed via the Play Store or side-loaded/sourced from a third-party site like Amazon. The feature is likely just there to help technicians or developers diagnose potentially problematic apps sourced from outside Google Play.
New Google Camera with customizable volume button actions
The new Google Camera 4.1 comes pre-loaded on Android N dev preview 5 and it adds a couple of nice new features. First up, csutomizable volume key actions. This means you can tell the Android OS what you want volume up and down to do while in Google Camera. Choose from zoom, shutter and volume for now.
The three on-screen settings – timer, HDR and flash – now show their options in a full-width view. When accessing previously taken photos, the Google Photos icon has been replaced with an “All Photos” label in the top right hand corner and you can now double tap to zoom in instantly. You can no longer display manual exposure settings.
New Quick Settings options for developers
This one is likely to vanish before the final Android 7.0 build rolls out, but for now, there are two new options in the Edit menu of the Quick Settings. “Show layout bounds” and “Profile GPU rendering” both now appear as optional tiles.
VR mode options now appear in Display Settings
While we already knew about Android 7.0’s sustained performance mode for VR, the setting is now showing up in the Display settings in dev preview 5. At the bottom there is now a setting called “When device is in VR mode” with options for “use low motion blur settings” and “do nothing”. Something tells me a teardown will soon reveal further VR mode integration.
Camera twist gesture added
If you’re a fan of the funky wrist twist gesture to launch the camera in certain Motorola devices, you’ll be pleased to know the same function was added to the fifth developer preview. This pretty much makes it a lock as a final Nougat feature.
Android N Developer Preview 4:
Quick Settings toggle changes
For some strange reason, Google decided to change the Quick Settings toggle action when pressed once. Previously, tapping a toggle would turn a setting on or off straight away. In Dev Preview 4, it takes you to a mini settings menu instead (the same one previously accessed by tapping the word Wi-Fi or Bluetooth under their respective icon). This is a strange decision and one not likely to be very popular with users. (Update: Google has now confirmed it will change the Quick Settings toggle action back to the way it was – and should be.
Namey McNameface Easter Egg
If you remember the discussion at Google I/O 2016 about crowdsourcing the official Android N name, you will probably remember the joke Dave Burke made about not calling it Namey McNameface (hopefully you know the Boaty McBoatface story or the joke will be lost on you). Well, in Android N Developer Preview 4, the Easter Egg now shows a big old N emblazoned with Namey McNameface. The official name may now be Android Nougat, but it’s still pretty funny.
Google trolls everyone with the Android N Developer Preview 4 Easter Egg
Android N will be Android 7.0
We’ve previously mentioned how all the clocks in the screenshots at I/O were set to 7:00 – Google’s usual way of telling us what the next Android version number will be. Well, we’ve now pretty much had Android 7.0 confirmed: if you turn on Demo Mode in the Android N preview 4 you’ll see that the time is set to 7:00 as well.
Recently used emoji removed from Google Keyboard
This isn’t exactly earth-shattering news, but as you probably realize, we’re now at the polishing and fine-tuning stage of Android N, so the changes we see are going to get less sexy the closer we get to go time. In Dev Preview 3, recently used emoji would appear in the suggested word field of the symbol tab in the Google Keyboard. In Dev Preview 4 you’ll have to enable that option in the keyboard settings: the default state no longer shows emoji.
Custom Pointer and other final APIs
The fourth Dev Preview contains the final Android 7.0 APIs and SDK. One of those final APIs is the Custom Pointer API, which will be utilized by devs to get their apps ready for keyboard and mouse control, essential for Android apps on Chrome OS. API 24 is the new target for developers and they are now able to publish apps supporting API 24 to Google Play in the alpha, beta and production release channels.
Android Auto navigation is broken
This is hardly a feature, but it has cropped up enough on the Android bug tracker to warrant the attention of the Android team. Remember, Android N is a developer release, so things occasionally get broken. You can rest assured it will be working again by the time your devices get the official Android 7.0 update though.
Android N Developer Preview 3:
Sustained Performance Mode
The idea behind Sustained Performance Mode (SPM) APIs in Android N is to allow developers to self-identify apps that need to run at high intensity for long durations, like VR apps or hi-res games. Using the SPM API allows devs to set performance levels that are sustainable for the duration without totally destroying the CPU and battery. For now, only the Nexus 6P supports SPM APIs in Dev Preview 3, but we expect that number to expand in the fourth developer preview.
More on Sustained Performance Mode in Android N
Seamless updates
This is one of the cooler features coming up in Android N. Instead of being required to download an Android update, install it and reboot, Android N will automatically download and install it on a secondary partition. The next time you reboot your device, Android will switch partitions and you’ll have the latest Android version without having to labor through the updating process yourself. The JIT compiler also means you’ll no longer see the “Android is upgrading” screen following a reboot either.
How seamless updates work on Android N
No more Launcher Shortcuts for Android N
Launcher Shortcuts – the ability to create custom action shortcuts on your home screen – has officially been axed for Android 7.0. The Google Developers Blog release notes on Dev Preview 3 confirm it won’t appear until a future Android release and that the API will be removed in the next developer preview.
Multi-Locale Mode for polyglot language support
Multi-lingual Android users have always struggled with the rather limited support for more than one language in Android. Android N’s new Multi-Locale Mode aims to address that imbalance by allowing users to add multiple languages in order of priority, so the system can switch from one to the other when necessary. Apps that don’t support the primary language will simply drop to the next on the priority list.
How Multi-Locale Mode works
Dark Theme gone yet again, Night Mode remains
We have no idea what’s going on with Google and Android’s Dark Theme. It first appeared back in the Android M developer previews but never made it to Marshmallow proper. It then resurfaced in Android N with multiple impressive advancements but is now gone, yet again.
Google has said that Night Mode and the Dark Theme are “very unlikely” to make it into the final Android 7.0 release, but that it hasn’t ruled them out entirely. Apparently, neither feature met Google’s performance standards. In Dev Preview 3, Dark Theme is gone, but Night Mode remains in the Quick Settings.
Why Google removed the Dark Theme in Android N
Google Keyboard themes
Google giveth and Google taketh away. Just as we lose the beloved Dark Theme for Android as a whole, we gain themes for the Google Keyboard in Android N. Version 5.1 of Google Keyboard adds a bunch of colorful theming options, including the ability to set your own image background.
More details on Google Keyboard themes
More changes to multitasking
Multitasking in Android N is an emotional rollercoaster of proportions akin to the Dark Theme. The first Dev Preview had a bunch of new multitasking options (see below), some of which were removed in Dev Preview 2. In Dev Preview 3 things change again. App switching between your two most recent apps by double-tapping the multitasking button remains (thank heavens), but the number of apps will be reduced to seven.
The “Clear All” button at the top of the card stack has mysteriously switched sides: from left in Preview 2 to right in preview 3. Launching multi-window mode in the recents list is now activated by long-pressing an app and dragging it up rather than left in Dev Preview 2. You can still enable a swipe-up gesture on the recents button to launch multi-window mode in the System UI Tuner settings.
Other new stuff in Android N (Dev Preview 3)
As mentioned above, the Android N Developer Preview 3 is more about fine-tuning likely Android 7.0 features and removing those unlikely to make the cut. Sadly for fans of the Dark Theme and Night Mode, Launcher Shortcuts, advanced multitasking shortcuts, those funky new folder icons or the shutter button in video mode, it looks like these features may not make the cut.
Download the new Android N wallpapers
“Daydream” renamed “Screensaver” in Android N Dev Preview 3
Google tackling Stagefright once and for all in Android N
Android N apparently won’t support 3D Touch after all
Android N Developer Preview 2:
New folder icons
The first thing anyone installing Developer Preview 2 will notice is the new-look folder icons on the home screen. They don’t do anything functionally different to the old folder icon style, they simply show partial app icons through a circular “window”. If you have three apps in the folder you’ll see them in a pyramid formation, while even numbers appear in a grid orientation. (Update: these folder icons have now been removed.)
“Clear All” in Recent Apps menu
The app switcher has received a new Clear All button in the top left hand corner. When I say top left hand corner, I mean it. You won’t see it at the top of the multitasking card stack unless you’re at the first card in the stack (i.e. the “oldest” app in the list). There’s also a new image shown when the app switcher is empty.
The app switching shortcuts that debuted in the first Developer Preview have also changed. You no longer tap the Recents button to “scroll” through apps (there’s no countdown timer either) and entering split-screen mode is also different: you either long-press the Recents button when in a full-screen app or you long-press an app in the Recents list and drag it to the left.
“Clear All” recent apps and new-look folders in Android N
Lock screen Quick Reply
You know how the last preview introduced Quick Reply direct from the notification shade? Well, this preview takes it one step further by allowing you to reply to notifications direct from the lock screen. Just got to Settings > Notifications > Settings > On the lock screen to set your preference.
Remember, privacy is obviously a great concern here, so be careful. Once enabled, anyone that picks up your phone is able to Quick Reply to any installed app that supports the feature, and that could be dangerous. A granular option for enabling individual apps would be a much better idea than this blanket approach.
Launcher shortcuts on the home screen
If you’re at all familiar with Action Launcher or Nova Launcher, then you’d also be familiar with the idea of app shortcuts or actions based on gestures. The idea is pretty straightforward: tap the app icon on a home screen to launch it or swipe it to instantly launch an app-related task, like emailing your regular, WhatsApping your bestie or composing a new tweet.
The Android N Developer Preview 2 has also (kind of) introduced this idea to stock Android. The reason I say “kind of” is because although the feature is there it’s brand new, so no apps have yet taken advantage of it. Here’s what Google has to say about launcher shortcuts in its Android N documentation:
Android N allows apps to define action-specific shortcuts which can be displayed in the launcher. These launcher shortcuts let your users quickly start common or recommended tasks within your app. Each shortcut contains an intent, which links the shortcut to a specific action in your app.
Your app can create up to five dynamic shortcuts. When users perform a gesture over your app’s launcher icon, these shortcuts appear. By dragging the shortcuts onto the launcher, users can make persistent copies of the shortcuts, called pinned shortcuts. Users can create an unlimited number of pinned shortcuts for each app.
Camera changes
The camera interface is slightly different with some new icons
and you can now take photos while recording video via a dedicated shutter button above the recording button
. (Update: the shutter button has disappeared in Dev Preview 3.) Shooting photos on HDR mode is much faster than it used to be and Slow Motion has re-appeared in the hamburger menu navigation drawer.
Unicode 9.0 emoji support
The new Android N Developer Preview 2 also introduces Unicode 9.0 emoji, which are so new they haven’t even been announced yet. Besides a bunch of fun new emoji, Unicode 9.0 also “humanizes” many of its emoji, as opposed to the familiar cartoonish emoji in previous versions of Unicode.
How to get Android N emoji
Other new stuff in Android N (Dev Preview 2)
Vulkan is a sexy new 3D Rendering API that promises to manage multiple cores in an even more efficient and fluid manner. Android N dev preview 2 now supports the Vulkan API so developers can start getting their apps ready.
In the Quick Settings there’s a new toggle for the calculator. While some will find this convenient it is a little out of place, because it serves as a shortcut to the full app. It also doesn’t serve as a toggle at all, because there’s nothing to turn on or off or any further menu items to be accessed.
What else? Landscape mode rotation now works on both the home screen and in the app drawer. Night Mode now works automatically. You can set a wallpaper to your home screen, lock screen or both. There’s also a new setup screen called “Anything else?” and a redesigned Emergency Info app.
Google has also made the drag and drop options for app icons more consistent. When dragging apps on the home screen the top options will be Remove and Uninstall and from the app drawer they will be Cancel and Uninstall. Both actions now include an App Info option at the bottom of the screen. (Update: The App Info shortcut doesn’t appear in Dev Preview 3.)
Apps with sensitive content (like password managers) will no longer show a preview in the Recent Apps list. You can pinch the home screen to access the home screen management overview and there is a slight change to the priority settings for apps in the notifications. There are now six options for setting the urgency of an app’s notifications, from Blocked to Urgent Importance.
Android N Developer Preview 1:
Multi-window mode
The first official Android N feature to be confirmed was multi-window mode, with the confirmation coming, obscurely enough, via a Reddit AMA with the Pixel C team a few months back. During the discussion, Andrew Bowers confirmed that “split screen is in the works” and with the release of Android N developer preview 1, we can now see exactly how Android 7.0 split screen mode will look.
Compatible apps (developers will need to add support for split screen mode individually) can be opened up side-by-side in Android N and resized with a movable slider. You can drag and drop text between split screen windows and go full screen by dragging the slider all the way to the edge.
Developers will be able to set a minimum size for their app windows but you’ll have a very similar multitasking experience to what you already find on many OEM devices. There’s also a new picture-in-picture mode for Android TV that works just like minimized video in YouTube.
More on split screen mode, picture-in-picture and multitasking in Android N
Enhanced Doze Mode
As predicted, everybody’s favorite Marshmallow feature, Doze Mode, has also been improved in Android N. Doze now features a two-tier system. The first operates whenever the screen has been off for a while, whether your phone is stationary or not. This means you can now enjoy the benefits of Doze Mode anytime your phone is not being used, even when it is in your pocket or backpack. The other layer of Doze Mode works as before, but with some more improvements. When your phone is lying still, it will enter a deeper hibernation mode, deferring network and other activity until widely spaced-out “maintenance” windows before slipping back to sleep.
More details on Doze Mode in Android N
Freeform window mode
One feature that’s not officially part of the Android N developer preview right now is freeform window mode. As an unofficial part of a developer preview for an Android version that won’t arrive officially until six months from now, it is far from ready for prime time, but it works pretty much as you’d expect it to. You can launch multiple apps at the one time, resize them and move them around the screen however you like. Drag and drop text is also supported in freeform window mode.
Freeform window mode in Android N
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