Some of the new Android P features may have just leaked, revealed by a source familiar with Google’s plans. One of the additions could be the native support for displays with a notch in the upper part…
The Essential Phone is currently the only Android smartphone featuring a notch. Funnily enough, its also one of the few devices to get regular Android updates. According to inside sources, Google has already laid out the main goals of Android 9.0 P. One of them is said to be a visual overhaul of the OS to make the software more appealing. Reportedly, Google is aiming to draw the attention of iOS users with this move, hoping to make them switch over to Android. As part of the overhaul, Android 9.0 P is expected to bring support for notch-sporting cellphones a la iPhone X. Currently, there’s only one Android device with such a feature – the Essential Phone, but rumors have it that Huawei is also in the making of a notchy device. We can expect Android 9.0 P to be better at delivering notifications and status information while avoiding a possible notch in the upper part of the display.
Google is also seeking out ways to make the Google Assistant play a bigger part in the Android experience, and the next step seems to be to allow developers to include it into their apps, as reported by sources. Unfortunately, none of these changes will be implemented until the next year. For comparison’s sake, Apple has already allowed developers to integrate Siri into their apps using SiriKit, released alongside iOS 10.
We can expect to get more information about Android 9.0 P at this year’s Google I/O, which will be held from May 8 to May 10. There’s also the possibility that we get a developer’s preview before that, as we did with Android 8 Oreo. The last couple of major Android updates were previewed at the convention, so we believe this trend will continue. As for an actual release date – that’s probably going to be sometime in the fall, alongside the release of the new Pixel smartphones.
Despite the fact the latest major Android version – Android 8 Oreo – is present on little more than 1% of all Android devices worldwide, we’ve already got some details on the next big Android update – 9.0 P, having the internal code name ‘Pistachio Ice Cream’.
