Craving for Nougat

It has been a while since Android switched to once-a-year update, and the latest sweet-themed major Android update is the Nougat – the 7th major version of the world’s most popular mobile operating system. The update promises a number of UI and performance improvements and users may be wondering if and when their phones will get the updates. Timely updates on Android have always been a bit of an issue, compounded by the fact that each manufacturer deems it necessary to dress it up in their own vision. The custom interface and the bundled apps then take time to port a device to the new Android version – but it isn’t just a matter of making the custom overlay work on the new OS version, a lot of testing needs to be done to ensure that nothing goes wrong. This obviously takes time and it shows – in the two months since Google made Nougat available, no manufacturer has gotten around to updating their existing smartphones. No phone maker has made a hard commitment on when to expect Android 7 Nougat for any of their phones, but people who bought flagship phones in the past year and a half should expect to eventually get it. Don’t hold your breath though – it can be as long as the first or second quarter of 2017 when the update starts rolling out for your phone. As expected, newer flagships will get it first, and the manufacturers then will slowly get around to their older flagships and mid-tier phones.Generally speaking, phones released in 2014 will not see the update, as the flagships released back then used the Snapdragon 800 or 801, a chipset that its manufacturer Qualcomm says will not support Android 7 due to performance issues. But should you even worry about whether you will get Nougat? It depends, really. One of the most prominent features debuting on Nougat, the support for split-screen mode has already been available on a number of smartphones since years. But the ability to reply to someone from the notification pane itself is a much-welcome addition and something that should really have been introduced much earlier. Also useful is the ability to switch between two apps by double taping the Overview button – sort of like Alt-Tab for Android.  Then there’s the always-present promise of a better battery saving mode. Again, most manufacturers seem to implement their own methods of conserving battery and going by past Android iterations, you may not really notice a significant improvement in the battery life of your device. Nougat is promising a much-improved implementation of the Doze functionality that was introduced with Android 6 Marshmallow. Simply said, your phone goes into an extremely low power consumption mode when it is not in use. Kind of like the sleep functionality on your Windows. Previously the feature required your phone to be lying motionless with its screen off and no charger connected. Google has now improved its implementation, so the phone will be able to ‘doze’ even when in your pocket. That said, the improvements in battery life come when the phone is not being used – so if you are a heavy smartphone user, the improvements you see may not be much. Nougat also brings with it improved performance in the form of a new JIT compiler, promising less space required for apps and faster operation. But given how fast modern flagships already are, you may not even notice the improvements. Gamers and VR enthusiasts will benefit from the two biggest game changers on Android 7. Nougat brings with it support for Vulkan API, which will help game developers improve their games and bring better graphics to your phone. The new release also brings with it support for Google’s Daydream VR platform. Google hasn’t exactly made it clear what the requirements to use Daydream VR are, but going by the recently launched Pixel phones, most smartphone flagships released this year should be able to support it. Google also announced the Daydream View for $79 along with its Pixel phones, and this should let you view VR content on your phone. This could be a big game changer for non-Samsung users, as it will finally let them play with a good VR experience.  *The author may be contacted at techknowbeat@outlook.com or followed on Twitter at @tknobeat