Google previews Android O and starts public beta

At its developper coference I/O Google released a lot of information, among others more info abou the upcoming Andoid O . The first public beta is available towards Pixel adn Nexus owners.

For Android O a focus is improving battery life and security. A new Google Play Protect feature makes it easy for users to see which of the installed apps have recently been scanned for potentially harmful content. Apps that run in the background are limited in usage. As a result, the battery power is reduced and the device's performance remains good.

Picture-in-picture

Android O gets a Picture-in-Picture mode, which allows you to reduce the image of apps and place them in a corner. The user then can do other things on the smartphone in the meanwhile. Apps like YouTube, Netflix, and Google Maps are supported. Also a Notification Dots function has been announced. By pressing the app icon long, the notification appears and direct interaction is possible.

Selecting

With a smart selection tool Android O recognizes the type of text that the user selects. That information can be instantly opened and accesed in an app. Additionally, Android O automatically fills out information in apps. Think of addresses or usernames in form fields.

The full name of Android O is not yet known, which will follow later this summer.Also a release date was omitted.

Android Go

In addition to Android O, Google also announced an operating system for less powerful smartphones. The version is called Android Go and works with 512BMB memory based smartphones.

This means that Android devices with less than 1GB of working memory are automatically provided with Android Go with the arrival of Android O. With these devices, Google hopes to reach more users in emerging countries. With the special version, apps use less data and memory. There are also additional options to save, like downloading YouTube videos via Wi-Fi.