A new update for the Android Oreo 8.1 rolls out this week, and it has quite a nifty new feature.
Good news arrives for Android users, as Google introduces a useful new feature in an update for Oreo 8.1. Android devices using the operating system can now see average connection speeds when scanning for Wi-Fi networks.
This new feature lets users know the capabilities of the connection before they use it, letting users choose among networks and other options more fitting to the task at hand. The new feature, called "Speed Labels" by Google, puts an advisory label under the name of each Wi-Fi network on the network scanning screen.
A legend is available here for the measured capability of each label. The "Very Fast" label means users can enjoy any service online without any delays for loading or buffering, including high definition videos. "Fast" means users can still enjoy streaming most standard definition or regular videos. "OK" means users will have no trouble browsing the internet, using social media, or streaming music. Meanwhile, "Slow" means only the bare minimum services may be available, such as text chats and voice calls.
Users who do not like the feature have the option of switching it off in the Settings menu. Speed Labels will not show up for protected Wi-Fi networks as the device will not have access to the network for speed testing.
The development of the feature was announced in December 2017, and its release this week was announced on Android's official Twitter account.
When Oreo launched, there was not much to be had in terms of new features. There were no visible differences nor ground-breaking innovations to user experience compared to its predecessors. This new feature is not as intricate as an automated speed test which can measure exact speeds in bits, although it is still very useful. This marks the release of an interesting new feature which could very well be available to all devices, even non-Android ones in the future.
