Google developers have finally released the public version of Android Oreo 8.1. The latest operating system (OS) update may have seemingly little changes from the original Oreo version, but it brings a few important tools vital for artificial intelligence (AI) functions, as well as machine learning.
As reported by Mashable, the Android Oreo 8.1 version is now available after several weeks of beta testing. Users may not be able to tell the difference upon installing the latest OS version, but the real deal lies beneath the system codes. Specifically, the Android Oreo 8.1 introduces a bunch of new software tools that developers will find very useful, one of those being the new Neural Networks API.
The new API system is said to help software developers in adding machine learning functions into their apps. Thanks to the OS version's improved AI capabilities, developers can now give commands to their apps, like identifying a photo, answering to users' inquiries, and predicting the user's behavior.
The new commands included in the Android Oreo 8.1 update include some necessary improvements in autofill functionality. The apps are now expected to flash more specific details regarding information that will be saved for autofill. The update will also prevent the apps from displaying invalid autofill options. Lastly, developers can also train their apps to do certain actions automatically when they come up with a malicious webpage.
Meanwhile, there are also a few noticeable changes for regular users in the Android Oreo 8.1 update. For one, apps will no longer show multiple notification alerts all at once upon opening the phone. Following the OS update, the notifications will only be flashed once per second.
According to InfoQ, the final public release of the Android Oreo 8.1 version went out after a month of existing as a developer preview. Along with the Oreo 8.1 launch, Google has also introduced the new Android Oreo Go edition, which will be compatible with low-memory devices. The Go edition is expected to boost the performance of low-tier Android handsets with less than 1 gigabyte (GB) of random access memory (RAM).
