The developer preview of Android 8.0 O is out, giving a closer look at what Nougat's successor has in store.
While it doesn't mention anything about the next version's name — the word in town is it's Oreo, though — it does showcase a ton of upcoming improvements and elements, from battery life to various viewing modes.
So, without further ado, here are 10 of the top Android O features to look forward to:
Adaptive Icons
Android is the kind of OS that encourages customizations, but sometimes, the icons become out of place with certain themes from the Play Store.
That's why Android O is bringing something called "adaptive icons" to the table, allowing developers to package their apps with various shape options for their icons: squircle or a square with rounded corners, circle, and more.
Aside from solving the blending-in problem, this feature is taking customizations to the next level to boot.
Autofill
Password manager users are in for a treat, as autofill support is getting one mighty big improvement.
When Android O lands, you can choose a password manager that'll handle all your autofill needs, and by "all," we mean everything — your password on Facebook, your credit card info when you're ordering an item online, and so on.
Audio Quality
Audiophiles won't go wrong with a combination of an Android phone and a pair of Bluetooth earphones soon, as Android O will bring in support for high-quality Bluetooth audio codecs.
Battery
Battery life improvements are something that everyone can dig. Invisible to the naked eye, Android O will limit the activity of apps in the background when you have others open.
For instance, when Google Maps is open in the background, it'll do location updates less frequently when you have, let's say, the Facebook app on the front of your screen.
Keyboard
Developers are going to get better support in making navigation easier in apps when Android O arrives, and in turn, that spells good news for users of Android tablets with physical keyboards and Android Apps for the Chrome OS.
Lock Screen
Shortcuts on the lock screen are not unheard of, but they haven't exactly gone beyond quick access to the camera or Google Assistant.
That's going to change when Android O rolls out, though, as it'll give you more options to customize your lock screen.
Multi-Display
Multi-display support is coming soon, and when it does, you can finally launch an activity on a remote display. That means you can move one activity from one display to another seamlessly.
Notifications
More control over notifications means more control over the pop-ups that may or may not bug you. Called "notification channels," Android O will let you set app notifications into groups.
Google says these channels are "app-defined categories for notification content," or in other words, you can put a bunch of similar apps into one channel and change all their settings simultaneously, instead of managing each app's notifications one by one.
Picture-in-Picture
You've probably seen picture-in-picture on the YouTube app, but just to be clear, that's when the video you're viewing continues to play in a smaller overlay window when you tap the Back button.
Android O is basically spreading that feature outside the YouTube app — that is, if you're using a supported video app.
Wi-Fi
Android O is adding something called Wi-Fi Aware to the mix, which was previously known as Neighbor Awareness Networking or NAN.
Put simply, this will let devices communicate with one another via Wi-Fi even without the middleman, aka an internet access point.
To boil things down, Android O is going to change the user experience in a significant way, and it just can't come soon enough.
It's also worth mentioning that Android recently became the most popular OS in the world, and with these in tow, it's going to live up to that honor even more closely.
For the record, the developer preview shows even more goodies making their way to Android users. The list above is just some of the top Android O features we think our readers will love.
