Android 8 Oreo Features Lots Of New and Exciting Changes

The latest operating feature system from Google will soon be available on Nexus and Pixel devices. Android 8 Oreo has many exciting new features.  It is attractive in appearance and there are lots of improvements that are not obvious on the screen.  If you aren’t the owner of a Google device you have to wait a little longer for some of these exciting changes.  What are they?

Android 8 Oreo features

Settings Menu – A Brand New Design

The settings menu is the most obvious.  It now features text, which is a subtle dark gray, on a background that is completely white.  The side navigation which was on the Android Nougat is no longer there, but the setting area is simple, straightforward and easy to use.

A New Look for the File Manager

It may not be the best one available, but you can browse files without another app being needed.  You can open, view and delete files easily.

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Saving Your Battery

Android 8 Oreo may have fixed the issues with battery drain.  Doze Mode was useful, but now these issues are much improved.  Android Oreo has ‘Background Execution Limits’, which helps in this regard.  There is a limit on requesting location updates.

Snooze for Individual Notification

This feature of the Android Oreo works almost like the Snooze button on the alarm.  If you need to leave the message until later, you can swipe it and click on the icon to snooze.  It is set for 15 minutes, but this can be adjusted.

Fingerprint Scanner

Android 8.0 Oreo features additional protection.  Favourite apps can also have the same functionality.

W-Fi turns on automatically

If you don’t have access to Wi-Fi during the day, this is ideal for you.  One of the Android 8 features includes disabling the Wi-Fi when you turn the radio off.  You will save battery life because your phone will not be looking for hot spots during the day, but once you get home, the Wi-Fi radio will go back on automatically.

Additional Storage Control

With the new Android 8.0 Oreo, it will be much easier to clear files and cached data.  This has been available before, but now there are more specific categories available, so you can clear ‘Games’ and apps for movies and TV.  This is a vast improvement to Nougat because you can select specific categories.

Picture-in-Picture – a new and useful feature of Android 8 Oreo

This special split-screen will allow you to watch videos at the same time as you are performing other tasks.  So far it only works with some apps, but this list will gradually increase.

Battery Menu

As well as a visual change, the battery menu on the Android Oreo has additional features.  Some useful options are at the top of the menu making them easier to access, and it is easier to read the usage graph.  In addition to that, a new set of statistics tells you how your battery was used, by scanning and display.

Autofill

This feature of the Android 8 Oreo is similar to that available in Chrome, where saved information can be auto-filled.  Apps will be able to create lists of data, then Android Oreo will populate this data into fields when needed.  It will be able to use information from your Google account if they have been saved.  You will maintain control, and adjust it as necessary.  At the moment this will only work with information from Google.

Rescue Feature

Android Oreo has a new feature called ‘Rescue Party’.  Basically, it provides a series of fixes.  It could well be the end of ‘boot loops’.

Notifications

This new feature in the Android 8 Oreo allows apps, such as Gmail, to create separate categories for notifications.  One example is the separation of work and personal emails.  This feature is called ‘Notification Channels’.

Android Oreo Changes

Icons

Google introduced rounded home screen icons with the Pixel, and when this is combined with the free form icons on Androids and the squircle on Samsung devices, fragmentation becomes an issue.  ‘Adaptive Icons’, a new feature on Android Oreo, allows developers to create single, unified icons and the system will sort everything out, and on the screen, the icons will match. Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Review shows that it uses Android 7.0

Bluetooth

Google has now added some top quality Bluetooth codecs to the Android Oreo.  One is Sony’s LDAC, which will improve the audio quality substantially.

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Navigation – arrow keys and tabs

Android apps can be run on Chromebooks, but keyboards and touch screen apps don’t always go well together.  Android 8 Oreo has made this more reliable and easier to navigate.

A Pixel Launcher

In this Android 8 OS, there have been some refinements to the Pixel launcher.  In order to open the app drawer, you are able to swipe up from almost anywhere on the home screen.

Wider Color Range

The new Android 8 Oreo is able to support a wide array of color options.  What you see now will be similar to those you see on top quality displays.

More about Wi-Fi

Called ‘Wi-Fi Aware’, this new feature on the Android 8 will allow devices running this version to be able to discover each other.  This will create a private network and allow the devices to share data.

Notification Badges

The new Android 8 Oreo has support for ‘unread’ badges on the icons on the home screen.  This can be enabled or disabled from Settings.

Unknown Sources

With the new Android 8 Oreo, each individual app will be to be trusted.  When you download an APK, there will be a prompt to review.

More on the Battery

On earlier devices, the System UI Tuner could depict the current percentage, and although that is still present you need to opt for this display to be available.

Quick Settings – Battery and Connectivity

This is only a small change, but you will be able to see a set of connectivity and battery indicators at the top of the screen.

‘Powered by Android’

When you open your device, you will see a new addition to the screen – a badge, ‘Powered by Android’.

Progress Bar – Installing Package

On the Android 8 OS, the Package Installer has a new look and an actual progress bar.  You also have the option to cancel, unless the installation is too close to the end.

Selection of Smart Text

This menu has been updated and includes various intelligent actions that will vary depending on the type of text you have selected.

Sticky Notifications

In order to increase security, there is a sticky notification which alerts you when an application is running an overlay in the Android 8 Oreo.

Emojis

The new emojis are rounded, and most of them have a gradient as well.

That is what we have found so far, but there may be more

(Image source:  tech-crunch.com)

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