Google is brilliant! With the introduction of Android 5.0 lollipop and Android 6.0 marshmallow, we thought we have seen it all, not until the release of Android 7.0 nougat.
The Android Nougat is an iteration of the marshmallow but comes with few changes and offers more to user. The Android nougat comes with same features as the previous versions or its predecessors like battery life, security and more, the only difference is that nougat is gaming as these features have and improved and modified.
Even though these changes are good for this android interface, some users who are already used to the marshmallow might find it wack at first trials, but trust me as time goes by, you will love it.
However Google has newer android updates so you can check the latest android interface in the link below
One of the most noticeable changes found in this Android interface has to do with quick settings and notification shades.
The nougat features a new notification window that lets you hide the setting features you don’t use that often, this is quite different from the former android versions.
For instance, you can remove a particular setting tile you do not use that often by tapping the edit button on the bottom right of the drawer, then long pressing the particular tile you want to hide, and then drag it until it disappears. The Android nougat quick setting API allows you store third party apps.
The Android nougat is the 7.0 version of android operating system; the alpha version of the operating system was first released in March 2016 and officially released to the public in August 2016.
The nexus device are usually one of the first device to come with androids updates, some of the nexus device that comes with updates of this android interface are nexus 6, nexus 6p, Nexus 5X, Nexus 9, Pixel, Pixel C, Pixel XL also having the update is some Samsung, Huawei, HTC device.
Before the release of nougat, Android had media server issues that have since been resolved with the release of the nougat android version.
The 7.0 nougat has further been updated to 7.1.2; the update is to fix some of the flaws in the 7.0 version and is also more stable with better performance.
Some of the features that will be better in the 7.1.2 nougat are finger print swipe performance, battery usage alert and Bluetooth connectivity.
Android Nougat Features
Internet Data saver
This particular feature caught my attention and this is because a device becomes boring when you do not have data to surf the internet, but a data saver that helps you minimize data usage is bae.
This feature is available on all devices that comes with the android nougat, and can be found in the data usage settings menu.
The data saver minimizes your mobile data usage by restricting data usage by background apps. When you turn the data saver on, only apps you are using that instant will be charged by bytes.
However, the data saver restrictions will not work on some applications that usually come with phones.
Under the data usage setting menu, you will see the apps that supports the data saver restrictions.
You can restrict or unrestricted a particular app by going to the
- Data usage on settings
- Then tap the particular app you want to restrict
- Then tap restrict app background data.
You can also off the restrictions whenever you feel like
Quick setting
Phones having the Android 7.0 Nougat are entitled to the quick setting. It is interesting to know that the third party quick setting API can be used on another device and adds new shortcuts to it.
This feature allows you get quick access to varieties of custom settings, VPN connections, a Twitter client and more.
Some application you install have their quick setting tiles, to check this simply go to
- Quick setting
- Below the list is selection of unused tiles
- If the app has a quick setting time it will be displayed to you
- Then you can drag to add or remove.
Apps shortcuts
The Google’s app shortcut was formally known as launcher shortcuts comes with android 7.1 nougat, so phone that has the 7.0 update will not come with the app shortcut.
The app shortcuts allow you have easy access to apps from your home screen.
You can use this shortcut feature by
- Long pressing the app icon you wish to create the shortcut for (a menu will pop up)
- Then tap on the list of shortcuts to launch an action from the app
- Then drag the app to the home screen.
Applications or tiles have list for short cuts for example setting has battery data usage and Wi-Fi.
Spilt screen mode
The android nougat is known for its split screen mode feature. The nougat split screen mode makes it possible for you resize the window to give one app more room over another; all you have to do is drag the app divider up and down to resize the windows.
That not all! The split app also allows you multitask and allows you use two apps simultaneously.
You can carry out this action by
- Long pressing the multitask button
- Then select the app you want to add to the screen.
The app will be added below the app in use, allowing you work with the two apps.
You can also split different chrome browser tabs using the split screen mode.
All you need do is
- Open a chrome tab
- Trigger the split screen mode
- Tap the three dots on the top right corner of the chrome app
- Select move to other window.
The tabs you choose will move to the bottom while the one you are working with will be at the top.
App install source
Google spices up the android nougat with this cool new feature, the new app install source is seen in the setting tiles And allows you see where a particular app came from (Google play or side loaded APK).
To check app source
- Simply go to your phones settings
- Select apps
- Pick any app from the list that will be displayed to you
- Then scroll to the bottom.
At the bottom, you will get the source of the app, it will either tell you “app installed from Google play store” or “app installed from package installer”.
If the app was installed via Google play store, you can clock the link that comes with the information; this will take you to app listing on play store.
New notification panel
The notification panel was featured in the previous android interface and is very similar to the Apple’s IOS, you might think you are already familiar with it, but nougats notification panel offers a whole new experience.
Android nougat comes with a more defines and redesigned notification panel, the icons above the notification shade are more prominent and there is also a drop down toggle on the right.
The function of the drop down toggle is to expand the panel making it possible to respond to a message directly from a notification, the feature uses the same remote input API used by android wear.
Improved doze save battery life
Android marshmallow was the first android interface to feature the doze mode, there was significant improvement in the battery life of devices that came with the marshmallow updates.
The brain behind the dooze mode feature probably felt just like humans sleep at night to conserve and revitalize energy, then it wouldn’t be a bad idea for mobile device to do that as well.
Marshmallow was able to switch low energy mode so as to conserve the battery life of the device, this mode is usually activated when the device is completely undisturbed for a long time.
Android nougat features a much better dooze mode, the modified feature can detect when your device is at rest or when not in use.
This means that it doesn’t have to be until bed time before your battery can be conserved, even when the phone is resting in your pocket or bag the smart feature detects and go into dooze mode to save power.
Direct boot
Booting your system is faster and better with android nougat direct boot feature. When you boot a device that runs on nougat, the direct booth splits everything into two categories which are the device encrypted storage (DES) and the credentials encrypted storage (CES).
Device encrypted service (DES) is a storage location that is available during and after direct boot.
Apps and data within this location space are able to function before a user unlocks a device, apps like message and alarms are able to do things before a device is unlock reason why you are able to receive an SMS immediately a device is unlocked.
Credentials encrypted service (CES) is also a storage location, although this storage is available only after a user unlocks the device.
Aside from the apps including in the DES, all apps will be encrypted until the user logs in.
App share menu
Moving files and links from one app to another is easy with the android app share, but it can pose a challenge when you have many installed apps with a list of actions.
Well this is not a problem with android nougat; the accompanying pinning feature will assist you.
The pin action is placed at the top of the menu for easy access, you can pin your frequently used apps by long pressing them in the menu.
An information will pop up showing you pin at the top and app info at the bottom, so you can either tap the app info or pin the app. It is worthy to note that this will only work for native android app menu.
Clear all apps in multitasking
Continuous updates in operating systems makes possible for multitasking, this means you can open many apps at the same time and also get access to the opened apps by long pressing the screen and accessing the particular app you want to work with that instance.
This multitasking feature can cause overcrowding of the screen, that is why most phones like Samsung and LG made available a button that allows you clear all apps.
Might not be the best approach because you can accidentally touch the clear all button and close all your opened apps.
Google introduces a much smarter approach to clear all opened apps.
If you wish to clear all opened app, all you need do is use the clear all app option that appears at the top of your stacked app.
Simply press the clear all option and all the opened apps will be remove, note that this action will not remove background task but will only remove the apps you opened previously.
Improvements that came with Android Nougat 7.1.2 version
Battery usage alerts
This feature comes with the 7.1.2 nougat version and adds more modification to the features in 7.0. The battery usage alert options fall under the battery menu and also contribute immensely to saving of battery life.
The usage alert draws to your attention app and services that drains your battery life.
Storage manager
Most times we go low on storage due to access files and applications which are more than what our phones storage can hold. This can be dangerous for the device as it may lead to malfunctioning of even crashing of the device.
This new feature update gives you quick access to a screen that will allow you clear unused files and free up storage space on your device.
Image keyboard support
The updated nougat comes with increased the data you can input via your key board, this means you can now enter stickers GIFs and other content without having to upload or install third party app.
Some Problems that came with Android Nougat 7.1.2
The android 7.0 was updated to 7.1.2; this update was initiated in a bid to enhance the performance of the former.
However the aim of the update was not fully achieved as many users who updated OTA the 7.1.2 has a lot of not so pleasing story to tell.
Fingerprint issue
The 7.1.2 version of nougat which was updated on some nexus and pixel phones brought issues relating to finger print scanner.
Many users who updated this version via OTA, beta complained of inabilities to use their finger print scanners; this is really bad because one of the reasons for the updated version is to stabilized fingerprint and other features.
However, Google claims flashing the firmware manually will fix the problem for some users and before this method is carried out a full backup for the device should be done.
Well that is a thing of the pass as phones like Sony xperia that later received the update improved battery life, Bluetooth and a resolved fingerprint scanner issue.
Quick setting problems
Phones like pixel c that was preloaded with this version experienced malfunctioning in the quick settings.
The quick setting is not stable as the app launcher collapses while searching apps when a physical keyboard is connected. System that had the 7.1.2 update also experienced Wi-Fi instabilities and occasional hanging of UI.
Setup wizard problems
The system powered by the 7.1.2 nougat version experienced blackouts between boot animation and setup wizard.
There were also issues of messages not sending and Wi-Fi automatically turning itself off after setup. It was a bit ish for Google to advice users who experienced these issues to uninstall the beta.
How to install Android Nougat
Android nougat experienced wide update at its first release in August 2016. You can update this version over the air (OTA). You can also update the version manually, just down load correct factory image using the abd tool manually install.
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