Last year, Google surprised us with an early release of the developer preview of Android N ahead of Google I/O. While chances are Google might go the same way this year as well for Android O, there are no indications about it yet. But that doesn't mean we can't get a peek at what Google is planning for the next major update to the Android platform. Case in point: the first wave of rumors about Android O has started coming in.
The report on possible features of Android O comes to us via 9to5 Google, to whom a tipster has shared some info about this new version.
According to the report, Android O may feature new notifications, app icons badges for notifications, picture-in-picture mode, smart text selection and gesture support, and a new policy to restrict background app activities.
Starting with "new notifications," it's not clear what this feature actually means and how it could be implemented in Android O. 9to5 Google wasn't given many details about "new notifications," but citing past rumors of Andromeda, they note that new notifications may include AI-powered syncing that intelligently displays notifications only on the device you're using. The report also talks about iOS-style notification badges for apps, which gives users a quick glance at how many notifications an app has received just by looking at the app from the home screen or launcher.
As per the report, picture-in-picture mode, which is only available on Android TV currently, may also make it into Android O. A smart text selection floating toolbar and gesture support are also said to be coming to Android O. The details are scarce at this point and we don't know much about these features and its usability, but it's said that smart text selection will be integrated with Google's AI-powered virtual assistant.
Other tipped features which are reportedly coming to Android O include dynamic icons, massive improvements to MediaRecorder API, as well as many enterprise-related features. 9to5 Google has given these rumors a confidence score of 7 out of 10 after considering various factors, and it also notes that the source that has provided this insight to them "is in a position to know these details."
Obviously, regardless of confidence score numbers, we'll have to treat these reports solely as rumors until we hear something meaningful from Google itself.
Source: 9to5 Google
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