The new Android software, Android Oreo, is finally released, but only a handful of phone models like the Google Pixel and Nexus phones can experience the new software as of the moment. It is a major upgrade from the good old Android Nougat, with lots of tweaks and new features installed for a more seamless Android experience.
So what makes Android Oreo worth all the hype? In a description made by Android itself, it reads: "Introducing Android 8.0 Oreo. Smarter, faster, more powerful and sweeter than ever. The world's favorite cookie is your new favorite Android release."
Android claimed that compared to its predecessor, Android Oreo's boot speed is 2x faster. In a review made by CNET, they said that an Oreo-powered phone boots up 13 seconds faster when compared to Nougat, but other than that there is no considerable difference. Animations have seemingly tightened up as well, giving the illusion of speed, but so far it is not that noticeable.
Oreo's feature of improving and compartmentalizing app notifications is a highlight as well, as notification overload is a common problem in most Android phones. The notification shade is more readable and organized, with priority alerts on top called the "Major Ongoing," a "People to People" section for messaging alerts, a "General" section for common notifications, and the less-important ones buried in the "BTW List."
New emojis are also in store for the Oreo, and the old-fashioned "blob style" emojis are now extinct. Seventy new characters can be accessed such as the T-Rex and Dracula. They are more in tune with the iOS emojis, with some minor differences in design.
Meanwhile, one of the most sought after feature of the new Android software is the "Picture-in-Picture mode," where a user can shrink a currently-watched video in a small box that can be placed on top of other windows, making it seem like multi-tasking. To access this new feature, one must utilize apps such as Chrome or YouTube Red.
Although currently under limited release, Google plans to expand the Android Oreo update into other Android phones before the end of 2017. A release date has not been confirmed, so Android users who do not own a Google Pixel or Nexus phone must wait until the update is available on their devices before they can experience the new version.
