Google puts third Preview of Android N online

Spread the love

Google has put the third preview of Android N online. The biggest change in the operating system is the way the operating system installs updates, which is in the background while the phone is on.

After downloading updates, the operating system starts installing the update in much the same way that Chrome OS, also from Google, does, Ars Technica reports. It swaps partitions so that the user doesn’t notice the update, then the update is active after a quick reboot.

That duplicate partition also makes updating more secure. If the update fails, the user can fall back on the still functioning other partition to boot the device. That has not been the case in Android so far, although in many cases a previous firmware can be restored to a phone in other ways.

Because earlier in Android N Google already gave the compiler an update, so that from now on apps no longer have to be compiled at startup and update, something that resulted in the ‘Optimising apps’ message that is displayed for minutes with updates. Instead of an ‘ahead of time’ compiler, Google now uses a combination of ‘ahead of time’ and ‘just in time’. That also makes the installation of apps faster.

The third preview version also contains the additions to VR that Google presented under the name Daydream. Android N Preview 3 comes out for the Nexus 6, Nexus 5x, Nexus 6p, Nexus 9, General Mobile 4G Android One, Pixel C, Nexus Player and Sony Xperia Z3. Google plans to release Android N this summer and plans to put five previews online. The new version of Android includes a new view for notifications, support for multitasking in two windows at once and a new version of battery-saving technology Doze that works when users have the phone in their pocket.

You might also like