Android N: what you need to know
Google is prepping its next big Android release. Darren Yates takes a look at the new features and investigates which devices are likely to see an update.
With take-up of Marshmallow/Android 6.0 now having reached 7.5% of all Android devices as of early May 2016 ( developer.android.com/about/ dashboards), Google is well on the way to launching its next release, dubbed ‘N’ and due to arrive some time in Q3 this year. The search giant is on a four-to-six week beta release schedule, with final features (the application programming interfaces or APIs) likely nailed down by July.
Android 7.0 (if Google ends up calling it that) is shaping up to be one of the more significant releases. While we can’t be certain about the complete features mix until final confirmation for Preview 4, Google has already outlined a decent shopping list of features in the meantime we wouldn’t mind seeing.
MULTI-WINDOW SUPPORT
The big-ticket item in Android N gaining plenty of attention is the new multi-window support that allows you to have two apps open on the screen at the same time. Phone and tablet users can have the two apps open above-andbelow in portrait mode, or side-by-side in landscape mode. There’ll also be a resizing divider between the two you can drag to change their respective sizes. The Recents button icon (the one on the right) will also split in two, indicating multi-windowing is in operation.
In addition, larger tablets will be able to offer a ‘freeform’ mode, which lets users resize apps in any form. But according to Google, this needs to be enabled by the device manufacturer, so it’s unlikely to be universally available.
Android TVs will also get an equivalent through a new picture-inpicture mode. Essentially, you’ll be able to view a video stream in the corner of the screen, while doing whatever on the remainder. Think of it as kind-of similar to Android’s YouTube app corner video-screen feature.
App developers will be able to set the minimum dimensions of the app activity (the app window) that users can’t resize below, but users will also gain the option to drag-and-drop content between apps that currently share the screen.
Those with vision impairment should benefit from a new ‘Display Size’ option, allowing you to zoom aspects of the screen, increasing the size of content and making it easier to see. You should find it under Settings > Display > Display size.
NEW NOTIFICATION OPTIONS
Android’s notification alerts are really useful, but it doesn’t take much for your screen to be crawling with the blighters. One new feature in Android N to combat this is bundled notifications. It’s an idea lifted from Android Wear that allows the system to bundle together in groups messages originating from the same apps, which
the user can then expand and handle one-at-a-time as before.
Another new feature is ‘direct reply’. Rather than having to launch the SMS app to respond to a message, Android N offers a new in-line reply option that runs inside the notification interface itself. And it’s not just Google apps that can avail themselves of this new option — Android includes the API commands enabling in-line replies, meaning app developers can begin implementing it.
Have at least Android Lollipop/5.0 on your device? You can reportedly achieve Direct Reply-like functionality right now through an app called ‘quickReply’ on Google Play ( tinyurl.com/zzhpfhl). At time of writing, it had a 4.0 rating.
DATA SAVER
If you’ve ever been stung by excess data charges, Android N’s new Data Saver feature could prove to be a real boon. It’ll be a new option within the Settings menu that puts up a wall against background data usage as well as notifying all apps to reel in foreground data usage. You’ll still be able to allow specific apps to have full access to data (whitelisting) if you wish.
The downside is that, beyond the OS-level background block, apps will likely require an update to support the app notification. As Google’s Android Developer page on Data Saver puts it: ‘It is considered good practice for apps to check whether the user has enabled Data Saver and make an effort to limit foreground and background data usage’ ( tinyurl.com/zecvmp9). Just how much ‘effort’ apps are expected to go to in limiting foreground data in Data Saver mode is unclear, but ‘play nice’ appears the overriding message.
PROJECT SVELTE
With plenty of focus in the two previous revisions, power management receives less attention this time around, but still gains some efficiency tweaks. Doze, the power management subsystem that reduces system and network activity when the phone is left alone with the screen powered down, gets new refinements that cover when the device might be on stand-by but moving, as in when you’re carrying it around with you.
More subtle changes come in the form of the on-going ‘Project Svelte’, Android’s RAM minimisation effort, which, this time around, includes removing three ‘implicit’ command broadcasts. Broadcasts in Android are messages sent by background code that can be received by any app that subscribes to them (think Pay TV), triggering those apps to launch or perform some action. The problem is, some broadcasts have too many subscribers – Google gives the example of the ‘CONNECTIVITY_ACTION’ broadcast, to which, apps subscribe to learn of any changes in network connectivity. If a network connection changes, this causes the broadcast to fire, waking up every app subscribing to it, all demanding action at the same time. This can pull down on battery power, but also increase the demand on CPU and memory ( tinyurl.com/
gpdx6qn). So, it’s gone in Android N, replaced by the preferred JobScheduler process.
ANDROID TV RECORDING
Google is looking to further make use of the processing horsepower available in Android TVs by expanding their ‘time-shift live TV’ capabilities to include recording TV to storage. At time of writing, Google warned developers might have trouble testing this since Android TV’s current Live Channels app doesn’t yet have the controls to set recording or playback. It seems, for now, the capability is limited to API commands, although this should change before long. The new functionality will allow users to choose what is recorded, when and where, as well as provide a manager for playing back recordings ( tinyurl.com/ h6m46hr).
NETWORK SECURITY CHANGES
Android often seems to be fighting off claims of security issues, so it’s not a surprise security gets further improvements in this latest revision. Amongst the more significant features is new network security configuration. Rather than having to configure an app’s network security settings within app code, Android N will allow apps to set up these options using standard XML configuration files. These are then plugged into the App’s ‘Android Manifest’ file.
Among the new options are the ability to set custom certificate
authorities (CAs) as well as block the use of plain-text traffic. If an app is designed to use an encrypted connection (HTTPS) to a website, the ‘opt out’ setting here stops any accidental transmission of plain or ‘clear’ text ( tinyurl.com/zoscrsk).
JAVA 8 SUPPORT
Android N will be the first Android release to support the newest features in version 8 of the Java programming language, including default and static interface methods and repeatable annotations. However, developers will need to install the latest Android Studio 2.1 IDE, in addition to the Android N Software Development Kit (SDK), in order to build N-compliant apps.
Google says even if you’re happy to stick with Java 7 code, you’ll still need to compile your apps against the Java 8 Development Kit (JDK) for them to work on Android N. You’ll also need to implement the new Jack toolchain (a toolchain is a set of tools that work in series converting code from source into executable form). You’ll find details on the Gradle build changes required to implement Java 8/Jack on its preview page ( tinyurl.com/ gmhwqdv).
Another more subtle change under the bonnet affects the Java libraries Android uses. It’s a long story, but a legal battle between Google and Oracle, gatekeepers of the Java language, over Android’s use of certain Java libraries is being suggested as a reason behind a switch to open-source OpenJDK libraries ( tinyurl.com/gonpmk3). However, the switch is also the main reason new Java 8 features become available in Android N — so while it’s a likely win for Google, it’s also a win for app developers, too.
PROFILE-LED COMPILATION
When Google launched KitKat/Android 4.4, it spruiked the advantages of its new Android Run Time (ART) app execution engine, through the benefits of ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation. ART replaced Dalvik, Android’s initial run-time engine, changing the way Android apps were built. Instead of compiling the bits of the app it needed just before it needed them (‘just in time’ or JIT), ART compiled everything in the app up-front. This took up more space and required more RAM, but given Android devices at the time were cranking up both, and fast, it wasn’t really a problem. The overall benefit was faster and more efficient code operation.
But interestingly with Android N, Google is bringing back a JIT compiler into ART to work in conjunction with the AOT compiler and will be profiledriven. The idea is ART will decide which bits of an app are compiled ahead-of-time and which bits can be left un-compiled until needed. Google claims it’ll be a feature important for ‘low-memory devices’.
NO 3D TOUCH?
One of the features Apple promoted on the release of the latest iPhone 6s-series was 3D Touch, a pressuresensitive action that allows control of app functions by how hard the user presses the screen. Google hasn’t confirmed or denied anything as of time of writing, but reports suggest that 3D Touch won’t arrive in the initial release of Android N, but is likely to appear as an update after launch.
For 3D Touch to work, you need a device with a pressure-sensitive screen. Market analysts IHS predicted at the end of 2015 that a quarter of all phones arriving this year will have that tech ( tinyurl.com/ht4lu8o). Plenty of bright rumours expected the Galaxy S7 Edge would feature a pressure-sensitive display panel, which wasn’t the case.
WILL MY DEVICE GET AN UPDATE?
If we had a dollar for every time we’ve
heard this question over the last five years! When it comes to Android updates, you never say ‘never’ in this game, but there are some pretty reliable rules-of-thumb that come into play here — if your Android device is less than 12 months old, the chances are pretty good, you’ll get an ‘N’ update. If it’s between 12 months and two years, the chances are less good, but still probably better than even-money. However, if your device is more than two years old, it’s highly unlikely you’ll see an ‘N’ update — officially, at least.
WHAT ABOUT CUSTOM ROMS?
Custom or community-based ROMs are a completely different story. You’ll probably start seeing unofficial ROMs appear for certain phones not long after Google releases the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) version of Android N. ROM developers will need to work out device driver software for various phone models, incorporate those into the new ROMs, test them and then make them available. Popular phones, particularly those with unlocked bootloaders, will likely be first as well as most numerously supplied with ROM options. (Personally, I’m hoping Samsung’s Galaxy S3 extends its streak of support with another run.)
But custom ROMs aren’t just for devices abandoned by their makers. They’re also for those who want less bloatware and more control over more recent devices.
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR
Just be aware that with custom ROMs, they’re likely to have some features that do not work — at least for the initial or early ‘alpha’ releases. Again, this depends on the skill and dedication of the team behind the ROM as much as the availability of device driver software for the various hardware features within the phone. If you’re tempted to try a custom ROM, make sure you know what works and what doesn’t — there’s no guarantee things that don’t work will ever get fixed, particularly if you’re using a lesser-known ROM on a less-thanpopular device. And we can’t stress this enough, if a ROM isn’t designed for your specific device model, don’t go near it. Run. Just run.
GETTING IT NOW
If you can’t wait, Google is making Developer Previews of Android N available for its latest flagship smartphones, the Nexus 6P and 5X, but it’s also surprised more than a few with a preview available for Sony’s Xperia Z3 ( tinyurl.com/jfuex4b).
Bottom line, however, we’ll have to wait for Preview 4 before we know with certainty just which features make it into Android N. Still, this list isn’t a bad start.