On 6th of August 2018 Google finally announced the release date of Android P, its latest mobile operating system, but also revealed the official name of the same as Android 9 Pie. This operating system is being rolled out for the users of Pixel phone from Monday itself, while for other phones it will be made available by the end of the fall. The release follows a public beta programme with 140,000 users. This release of mobile OS is done without any fanfare. For first-time beta release was made outside Google’s stable to devices from Nokia, Vivo, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Sony.

Android “Pie” is the ninth major update and the 16th version of the Android operating system. It was first announced by Google on March 7, 2018, when the developer’s preview was first released.  This Operating system follows the last year release of Android OS Oreo. As every new version of Android builds upon the previous version, meaning that each new update is better than the last.

FEATURES OF ANDROID 9 PIE

Android Pie, bundles a slew of new features like refined notifications, Indoor positioning for Google Maps, a sport for a new Wi-Fi protocol known as Wi-Fi RTT and an editor that lets you doodle on screen shots as soon as they are taken. Following are the major new features of OS Android Pie;

  1. Indoor Navigation Possible: With Wi-Fi RTT (Wi-Fi Round-Trip-Time) a new feature which allows indoor GPS style tracking by determining the location within the building, facilitating with turn by turn directions for indoor navigation. With this, you can find ways across big malls and building without any difficulty.
  2. Dashboard to track the usage of phone time: This new DashBoard has a bunch of features to help you control how you use your phone. While watching Youtube or playing various games or checking on social media on phone, generally you lose track of time. Dashboard breaks down the phone usage time and data you spend during the day on various things watched on the device. It presents a pie chart indicating the total number of hours spent on the phone, a number of notifications received, and how many times the phone is unlocked, thus helping you to track the phone usage.
  3. Digital Wellbeing: This feature lets you set a time limit on apps you use on phone for an extended time period. On reaching the set time limit app is paused and a notification pops up on the screen that you have finished the limit set. It helps you in better management of phone time.
  4. Navigation through gesture: Gesture Navigation feature of Android P OS is similar to the same feature in iPhone X. There is an option to use a single button on the home screen instead of three. It allows the device to showcase recent apps and quick shuffling between the apps and also with a UI that suggests app you might use, on sliding left and right across the device.
  5. Do Not disturb: When you are busy in meeting or attending some important function and you do not want to attend the phone, this feature silences the phone call and notification through Do Not Disturb mode. You can also put Phone in DND mode by putting the phone face down through new feature “ Sush” and also you can distance from calls and notifications.
  6. DND through Wind down This feature helps you to control the phone in night time also. It curbs the habit of late night use of the phone by switching on Nightlight and turning to DND mode at a chosen time in the night.
  7. App Drawer: This feature studies your phone using habits that to whom you call at the same time every day. On activation of this feature, your phone will automatically dial the number called every day on the same time.
  8. App Action Feature: This feature helps you to navigate your phone throughout the day by giving smart suggestions based on your phoning habits. Next action is automatically anticipated based on your current action.
  9. Slices: This function let you perform basic application activities outside the app. This function performs a deep analysis of your inputs and contexts to show you the best parts of the app that are frequently used by you.
  10. New Lockdown button: This new Lockdown button when activated boosts the security of the phone. Once enabled this disable fingerprint unlocking options also. Once the phone is in Lockdown mode it will open only after PIN or password or any other locking pattern is inserted in the phone.
  11. Adaptive Brightness: This feature takes automatic brightness to the next higher level by learning the brightness level required by you in different surroundings and your personal preferences.
  12. Adaptive Battery: Similar to the adaptive brightness this features studies which apps and services you really care about and makes it sure that maximum power supply is made to these apps and limiting the power to least used apps.
  13. Improvement to existing tools: Android 9.0 P not only brings new phone features, but the existing features get a fresh coat of paint and new toys too. Like Apple’s book, Google has added zoom to the text selection tool. It allows you to see the text you are selecting, and ensures that you get right text selection always with zoom lens pop up during the text selection.
  14. Volume Control update: Through this feature phones’ media volume will be controlled by default, instead of notification volumes.
  15. Screenshot edit button: There will now be an “Edit” button built-into the screenshot notification, to help you to save a few steps. The option to crop, draw over, or otherwise after screenshots can be done with this Edit button easily.
  16. Improved Notification channels: The new Android P have been revamped with notification channels which are an improvement over the last version, by allowing you to block a certain type of notifications from appearing on your phone.
  17. Improved Massaging Apps: There is an improvement in messaging apps as this OS provides developers to make images viewable in notification shade in all the incoming messages. This feature enhances the overall mobile user experience.
  18. Increased security: This feature of Android P has taken care of the security factor. Android has revamped the security feature in this version of OS. Now you can block camera and microphone functions when you access the apps. Moreover, this feature also put a restriction on the background apps, sensors like gyroscope and accelerometers that use continuous reporting. The same restrictions are on the on-charge and one-shot reporting sensors like step counters, proximity, and heart rate sensors etc.
  19. Apps will have a default for HTTPS: As we know that certain apps are not secure and may pose threat to phone security. Now this OS will only allow secure protocol apps HTTPS by default, which helps in the safety of user data sending through the apps.
  20. A number of devices connected with Bluetooth: Instead of two devices getting connected by Bluetooth earlier in Oreo 8, now five devices can be connected with Bluetooth with Android P.

Besides the above major features, the certain small modification is made in the existing features like Alert tone to notify call recordings, revamped medial panel, support for HEIF image and HDR V99 video format,  and Autofill in browsers which allows password managers to populate the login credentials into browsers. About 157 new emojis have been included including gender inclusive emoji with minor tweaks in designs also. New changes are made in OS in this version to will help improve ART (Android Run Time). It will give a great boost to performance and efficiency. Now app launch will be faster and consume less memory in the phone.

All these modifications in OS of Android P are going to enhance the user’s experience in the time to come. With new features the data security and phone security will increase, making the life of phone users more comfortable.