Android Nougat: Key Features Developers Need to Master

Mobile apps are thriving business now, and much of its credit goes to Android which accounts for the vast majority of mobile apps. If you have wished to have your mobile app and make loads of money, there is too many who share your dream. While thanks to the overwhelming growth of app economy we will see apps penetrating the life and living of more than 60% of people worldwide by 2017, your dream is thoroughly justified and highly actionable and achievable. But to milk the potent cow of mobile apps to fill your accounts, you need to be proactive with each and every change that is taking place.

For instance, Android Nougat has already come and is all equipped to give an overhaul shift to the app usability and user experience. The new updated OS offers Android app developers and users to do more with the apps and the device. Are you aware of the shift? While building your next Android app how these new attributes can play a crucial role in your development process? Have you got your training on Android Nougat?

The old proverb that says ‘hammer the iron when it’s still hot’ is perfect to recall here. Yes, Android N is hot, new and vibrant with several never before features, as a developer you need to get introduced with the new update before it becomes commonplace. Apparently, this means you have to master the new features of the new OS and utilize the same for a richer user experience.

Let us have a look at the major new features of Android N that can make considerable value addition in the app development process.

Optimized notifications

Among the few major changes in Android Nougat, improved notification is one. A new notification interface has been updated to this OS with some additional functionalities as well. The developers now can easily configure the notification styles thanks to the MessagingStyle class. Apart from that, there is extended support for allowing custom notification views.

The above mentioned look-wise changes apart, the new notification enable you to do a lot more. You can easily group notifications together to allow users prioritize and maintain various notifications of the app. For example, thanks to this grouping feature users can manage messages or email threads in groups as per relevance or other attributes. On top of all these, the new notification feature allowing you to reply directly from the notification message itself and this saves a lot of time to open the particular app for doing the same. Moreover, this value addition and ease will allow more app engagement.

Multi-window will allow doing more

While most smartphones these days are coming with more processing power and robust random memory, simultaneously running background apps has become standard. So, the split screen or seeing and interacting with multiple apps open in side-by-side windows is a kind of feature that we all expected with this new Android update and finally it has come opening lock gate of opportunities for developers.

You may think that the feature is built keeping mainly users in mind and not the developers. But, with such opportunity to utilize the screen real estate simultaneously with other apps will pave the way for high user engagement and that is why developers need to take it seriously. From sliders to allocate screen for multiple apps to split screen or apps displaying one above the other, the new Android N multiple window view can allow users do a lot more.

• Android Nougat allows devices to run apps in split-screen mode. The screen is filled with two running apps either being displayed side-by-side or one-top-of-the-other. By adjusting the dividing line between the two app displays, users can further allow one app to look bigger and the other one smaller.
• It does not end with handheld devices. The same feature allows helping the app display over the TV content through picture-in-picture mode.
• Thanks to this new display mode for simultaneously running apps the device manufacturers now can incorporate freeform mode allowing resizing any content or running app to let the other app or content share the same screen.

How can the Android users make a turn on the multi-window mode? Well, here are few ways they can do it.

• Simply by opening the Overview screen and pressing long on the activity title, users can drag content or app display to a screen area, and multi-window mode will be activated.
• There is another way to do it. You only need to press the Overview button long and instantly your present app activity gets into the multi-window mode, and after this, from the Overview screen; you can select another action for sharing the screen in multi-window mode.

Optimizing device performance

Have you expected Android Nougat to offer a whole bucket of stunning new features? Get cooled, because except the above mentioned two, there are not a lot of standout aspects that at a glance can strike your attention. But wait and get it in your mind that these small features can make a lot of difference that matter. First of all, the new OS is all equipped to allow better battery life which must concern developers and manufacturers as the majority of users is very particular about this when expressing their dissatisfaction with an app.

Android N offers ‘Data Saver’ mode helping users to save data by blocking background data requests. Android app developers from now onwards can address the standard requirements provided by this way and consider the suggestions through the ConnectivityManager.

Besides, the improvements on power front and data consumption, Android N as a whole approached the problem with resource grabbing background tasks. Through JobScheduler class developers can allow certain functions when the battery power and data limit are in favourable condition.

Improved Java 8 language support

One area that did not get enough reviews but nevertheless, it is a significant development for the Android. The new Java 8 language features will help incorporating lot of new things and make the device perform super-cool with a lot of features that were not available.

Android Nougat is going to power Google’s ambitious smartphone device Pixel, Samsung S7 and all the advanced gadgets still in the pipeline. Coupled up with cutting edge device functionalities the OS is all set to deliver dream user experience.