Nougat was released in late August 2016 and is currently available for the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, and Pixel C. The first phone with Nougat installed will be the LG V20, which will be available for purchase in September. Other Android devices, like the Samsung Galaxy, will likely receive the update later. And many phones won't receive it at all. It's worth reading the statistics provided by Google on this topic.
When the program was announced, I registered a device with the Android Nougat beta. For this review, I installed the new operating system via an over-the-air update on a Nexus 6P, costing $499.00 in the Google Store. This is one of the best Android phones on the market.
Visually, Nougat is a subtle change. But the most important news is that Google has added support for Unicode 9 emojis, with 72 tiny images, bringing the total to 1,500. These include emojis with different skin tones, making them more reflective of the real world. Emojis have long been appreciated for both aesthetic and linguistic reasons. Now, finally, Google has a similar offering to Apple's emojis. I sometimes think Google's cute, cartoony approach to emojis is much better than Apple's mysterious little icons. I mean, the iPhone had new emojis a long time ago.
If you remember Android from a few years ago, you'll feel like you're sitting at your home computer, where you can configure your desktop space, arrange apps however you want, and create app folders for easier access. You can also add widgets, which are smaller versions of apps that run from the desktop. You can add one that gives you a quick look at apps like Weather Underground.
The customizability of the phone's desktop is still one of the most obvious differences between Android and Apple's iOS 9. Even in the not-yet-released iOS 10, apps still appear in a fixed grid and widgets have been moved to drop-down notifications. If iOS is too rigid and rigid, the freedom and individuality of using Android are a strong argument for this platform.
I really like the feature in standard Android where you can uninstall an app from the main screen by tapping and dragging it to the top of the screen. You can still tap the App Center button to see all the apps installed on your device and search for apps from the search bar (because it's Google). The top bar shows recently used apps.
Google Now's voice search feature is still a huge Android advantage. Just say "OK Google" and you can ask any question you want in the search engine. You can also perform basic tasks on your phone and even launch apps. Siri and Cortana may have more personality, but I really like Google Now. The service has changed a lot; it's now more natural and user-friendly.
Swipe down from the top of the screen to open the notification pane, and you immediately see the changes in Android Nougat. In Marshmallow, notifications appeared as thin bars that could be dismissed by swiping or pressing. In Nougat, notifications are thicker, filling the entire width of the screen, and are clearly designed to follow the Android interface design aesthetic.
The size of notifications, both in the drop-down panel and on the lock screen, indicates more changes are coming. Notifications from the same app are now grouped into bundles. Pull down on a notification bundle to expand it, see more information, and even take additional actions. Swipe with two fingers in reverse directions or hold your finger on a notification and pull up the menu to perform specific actions, such as blocking or muting notifications from that app. Press left or right with your finger to dismiss a notification.
For example, dragging down the Gmail bar will show the sender and a preview. Drag down a specific message and the full text will be revealed, along with replies and the archive. It's easy to see how this will increase productivity for Android users. I'd like to see future versions that go further, perhaps with one long press we can archive emails and a short press we can dismiss them, like iOS does with lock screen notifications. You can also long press on each notification to change the notification frequency from that app.
Grouping similar emails is a key feature of Google's Gmail inbox, and a similar notification feature exists in Marshmallow, which groups notifications by the apps that generate them. Apple iOS has improved notifications over the years, but Android Nougat also improved the experience, surpassing Apple's approach. Even in iOS 10, I found notifications to be a surprising mess. This isn't the case with the new Android.
Nougat also lets you take more actions from notifications without leaving the app you're currently using. One of the most noticeable changes is replies. For example, you can now send a reply via Google HangoutsFree on the iTunes Store from the notification itself.
In testing Android, I had no trouble replying to a message via Hangouts from the notification screen. All I had to do was tap a button, type my reply in the field that opened, and hit Send. It felt very natural; I like not having to leave the app I'm currently using to send a message. However, it's important to note that not all notifications have a quick reply feature. I hope it will soon be in all the best Android apps that Nougat produces. It's also worth noting that Hangouts previously allowed you to reply to messages from a notification, but this ability also exists in iOS, where you can use replies in all apps. Apple's iOS already has the ability to reply from a notification, and it would be good if Android followed suit.
If you drag down the notification menu, you'll see the notification area, which is more useful than ever in Nougat. Here you can see the typical quick action shortcuts for Wi-Fi, mobile data alerts, and the flashlight at the top. Drag further down, and these icons smoothly transition to the familiar Quick Settings option. The new Edit button gives you more control over which features are available here. Previous versions of Android allowed you to not only turn Wi-Fi on and off, but also choose a Wi-Fi network from those available, and were the kind of smart, simple features that made iPhone users jealous. I'm very happy to see Google adding even more functionality like this in Android Nougat.
But all these new notification features raise the age-old complaint that preferences in Android are in so many different places. I think it would be nice to change how notifications work from the notification itself, but it's easy to imagine how less
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