This year it seemed like choosing an alphabetically appropriate dessert for the upcoming release of Android 7.0 was a bit more tricky than usual. We first saw official news of Android N back in March and a few days later saw Google's public cry for help over the naming of the new upcoming mobile OS. There just wasn't an obvious choice for the sweet/dessert beginning with the letter N. Google actually sent around a poll via its Opinion Rewards program asking people to choose between the likes of Napoleon, Nachos, Noodles, Nut brittle, Nori, Nougat and Neapolitan ice cream. Nutella, a popular sweet with readers, didn't seem to get a look in, perhaps due to trade mark / business reasons.
To celebrate Android 7.0 Nougat's naming decision Google unveiled the statue at its California HQ, as pictured above. It's great that Google has finally decided upon the naming, but what new features will be coming to the OS in Nougat? We've mentioned them before but now is a good time to recap…
Multi-Window is one of the Android 7.0 Nougat highlights. Owners of various branded devices might have had support for similar multitasking views previously from the handset vendor but it will be better for the ecosystem that it is a standard part of the OS. Notifications and how they are handled is integral to smartphone functionality and Google will intro direct reply notifications and better bundled notification in Nougat.
Delving deeper into the OS, Google will improve the Doze battery saving features introduced in Marshmallow. Project Svelte is intended to help further, with better power management and memory management. Data Saver will help you minimise the use of cellular data between Wi-Fi hotspots. Java 8 support is on the way. Improved DPI scaling is touted as a new feature. A new Night Mode is better for your eyes in the dark. Improvements to system updates will make them 'seamless' like Chromebook updates, says Google.
