Hands-On Android O Beta: My Initial Thoughts

After the announcement from the latest Android O at the Google I/O, an annual event for developers. Google released a Beta program that can give you the opportunity to try the pre-release version of Android and share your feedback. Its a Beta version so obviously, there might be bugs and errors from the launch version. But if you own one of the eligible devices, you can easily enroll your device and get started. I decided to give it a try with my Google Pixel and here are some my thoughts.

If you are interested in giving it a try as well or/and see if you are compatible, please check out the Android Beta Site. For me, the installation process was quite simple and easy to follow if compared to phone; for my experience for the least. Again, its at your own risk.

Overall UI hasn't changed that much.

Notifications

In terms of UI, nothing hasn't changed that much except for the Settings Panel and small tweaks as you go deeper into the settings. I liked the new placement of the Settings Navigations, feels more native especially on the Pixel XL. I also liked the improved function called: Night Light where they added a slider that allows you to control the intensity of the light.

New colour palette for the Settings Panel and also placement of its navigation

DOTS!

One of my major complaints from Android Nougat was the absence of signification of unread messages/notifications on the actual Home Screen where for example on iOS, you will notice them right away with a number inside the circle. Now you have dots, it is more noticeable and you can long-press on an icon to view your notifications. It's an improvement! What I do enjoy is that you can vaguely work on your notifications without actually entering the app.

Notifications Cards, Dots and Badges

New Set of Emoji

It is a new design, whatever you like it or not. You'll notice that they retired the blobs for which I was fine but these are more familiar. Personally, I am not the greatest fan of the stroke around all the icons but that's just me. You can view the full list here.

New set of Emoji Icons

I can't wait to play with the launch version but it's definitely fun to go through what Android is cooking up. On this OS, you'll get also smoother performance and lower data usage so more memory. To add also faster boot times, battery improvements (which it is already fantastic), more fingerprint gestures and more. Hope you've enjoyed this rundown!

More Links

• Visit the Android Beta Program
• Revisit our Google Pixel Review