Google Rollouts Android Nougat 7.1

Google released the beta version of the Android Nougat 7.1 to developers with Nexus devices last week and (some of) the results are in.

Android Nougat is a refresh of Google’s operating system. Although it has not been implemented onto every device yet, it’s good to be aware of what changes are coming and learn a little bit about the update in advance. This update should be released in December to the public.

Android Nougat 7.1 will be available on a variety of devices including Google Pixel, Nexus 5x, Nexus 6P, Pixel C, and more. Many updates prior to this one were limited and not available on the majority of devices. Users are grateful that this update will be more accessible.

• The update allows you to split your screen into two different windows, so you can have two things open at once.
• It works on every application as well so you can split your time between any two applications.
• The update also came with “Direct Reply Notifications” which provides users to respond to a message without closing out the window they are in. For instance, if you are reading an article and get a text message that you want to respond to, you can pull down the notification, type a response, and go back to your article.

One major advantage to this update is called “Android Instant Apps.”  This application will allow you to install just a portion of an app, for instance, a search result. You do not need to install the whole application; it will just use what you need of the application and then discard it. For instance, if you want to search for a review on Yelp but realize you don’t have it downloaded, it will pull what you need from the application but won’t force you to download it in order to use it.

• This update also brought a more detailed setting menu which has a lot of useful settings available in one place to users.
• You are able to see which Wi-Fi you are on, what your volume level is, how many hours your battery has left, and how much memory has been used.
• A favorite feature of the detailed setting menu is that you can check your data usage from the menu which really helps people that have limited data plans keep track of where they are.

Overall, people seem pretty impressed with the updates Nougat 7.1 has brought. A lot the updates seem practical and user-friendly. Have any of you had a chance to try this update yet? Let Beta Breakers know what you think.