The next version of Android has landed. Here are the new Oreo features and the phones confirmed to receive the update.
Android Oreo is the official name of the next version of Google’s mega-popular mobile operating system that’s available now for select devices.
To be eligible for the update, you’ll need to have a Google Pixel, Google Pixel XL, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X or Pixel C to get started. More phones have been confirmed to support the update later this year from the likes of Essential, Huawei, Samsung, Motorola, LG, HMD Global, Sony and more.
Don’t have a Google-branded phone? The company announced Project Treble, an initiative that will ensure that the Android Oreo update comes to many more devices than previous operating system. Additionally, the list of supported devices will undoubtedly grow as the year goes on, with the Google Pixel 2 rumored to launch soon.
If you don’t own a Google Pixel or Nexus device, the wait for Android Oreo is set to continue. We don’t exactly know when the software will release for third-party handsets and history shows that it can take quite some time as each manufacturer makes unique changes before pushing it to your device.
That said, if you own a relatively recent Android flagship phone, you should expect to be updated to Android 8 in the future, but when it will happen is a different question altogether.
Google itself has confirmed that the Oreo update will hit devices from many popular manufacturers by the end of the year. And while it doesn’t call the particular phones out by name, Google’s official statement is as follows:
With that information, we can safely guess that this includes (at the very least) the Essential Phone, the Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Moto Z2 Force, LG G6, Sony Xperia XZ Premium and more. Don’t see your phone on this list? No need to fret just yet.
We’ve received official confirmation that Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 will receive Oreo and chances are good that this also includes the Nokia 8 .
More recently, HTC has confirmed the HTC U11, HTC 10 and HTC U Ultra will all feature Android Oreo at some stage, but exact timings for the update are currently unclear.
OnePlus has also confirmed that the OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3 will receive the update.
We’ll be updating this article with the latest Android Oreo release date news as it happens, so be sure to check back and see if your phone is included.
Follow along as we dive into the list of tasty features included in Oreo.
The split-window mode introduced in Android Nougat is a helpful means for multitasking with most apps, but not all apps.
Picture in picture (PiP) takes this a step further by allowing you to miniaturize a YouTube video feed or a video call on Hangouts or Duo into the corner of your screen so you can carry on with other tasks simultaneously.
This is one of those “I didn’t know I needed this until I tried it” features and one that makes multitasking far less of a compromise than split-window mode. We’re excited to see how this feature develops throughout the life of Oreo and beyond.
Speedy boot times are usually associated with a step-up in hardware, but Android Oreo will supposedly bring this benefit to all phones that run the software.
While currently limited to the Pixel and Pixel XL, the improvement is certainly noticeable and impressive.
This is a minor feature as most of us keep our phones powered on indefinitely. But for those times when a reboot is necessary, this feature makes it all the less painful.
This is a power-saving feature that de-prioritizes app functions running in the background, which in turn means that your battery is going to possibly last much longer than it currently does on Android Nougat .
Paired with likely improvements to the Doze function that intelligently saves battery during down-time, it’s feasible that Android Oreo could help squeeze an extra handful of hours out of your phone.
In an e-mail trying to copy an address so that you can paste it into Google Maps? No more, says Android Oreo.
By using machine learning, the OS can now recognize which app is best for the string of characters you’re working with. Another example included being able to highlight a phone number and pop right into the dialer.
As the name suggests, Google has introduced strict design guidelines for developers to adhere to that will help to create a unified visual style across more apps.
In addition, these new app icons will animate based on user interaction and…have you seen the animation demo? Look up. It looks awesome.
It seems that Google hasn’t rolled out these nifty icons yet, but hopefully we can look forward to them coming in the next update of Android 8.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the first Android phone to come installed with Bluetooth 5, a technology that will widen the bandwidth and raise the speed limit in the wireless pipeline for your content to travel through and thus, enhance the quality of audio content sent wirelessly between your phone and headphones.
And while many devices will follow suit, audio quality on Android is going to get yet another boost thanks to Android Oreo’s native support for LDAC, Sony’s hi-res Bluetooth audio codec.
In the developer options, we’ re already seeing tons of options for tweaking the bitrate for audio and we expect more advancements to come down the line. This one could be a big deal, especially for those holding out on buying into the best wireless headphones.
This is all good news, especially since the Google Pixel 2 might not have a headphone jack.
An oldie that’s been knocking around for years on iOS and some third-party launchers, this brings an at-a-glance notification bubble to app icons on the homescreen as a native Android feature.
Unlike iOS, Android Oreo doesn’t tell you how many pending alerts you have within a given app, but knowing where to direct your attention at the very least is a good thing.
Google is finally replacing the gumdrop emoji style from older versions of Android and is now making rounder face icons for Android Oreo.
There are also new emoji in the form of starstruck, throwing up, fairy, mermaid, giraffe, wizard and even more options.
It wouldn’t be a new version of Android without a new easter egg mini-game to try out. Oddly enough, Oreo also comes with Android Nougat’s odd cat-feeding mini game.
But onto Oreo, clicking and holding on the OS’ logo takes us to a mysterious, empty screen with nothing but an octopus on it.
