Are you ready to take a bite of the Oreo android system? Have you already taken a bite and are already feeling the new features of Android’s eight major update and the fifteenth version of the phone system?
Android has been upgrading its version based on the Roman alphabet and since the letter “O” is the fifteenth letter in the alphabet, Oreo is considered the fifteenth Android version.
Also, Google has been naming its Android phone operating system based on popular desserts except for the first two versions which were named Alpha and Beta corresponding to the first two letters in the Greek alphabet.
How did it get into the dessert naming system? Well, the system of Android was developed by Andy Rubin, who was a former Apple employee before becoming a Google employee. He was nicknamed “Android” by some of his colleagues at the Apple company in 1989 because he loved robots.
About the dessert naming convention of the Android operating system, Andy Rubin was a lover of sweets, hence, the naming system. Later on, in 2012, he already turned over the development of Android to Sundar Pichai, who was the current CEO of Google, but the dessert naming convention still remains.
Historically, Android began on September 2008 with Android 1.0 which has no codename and it was first used on the HTC Dream mobile phone. Next version was Android 1.1 which was codenamed “Petit Four” but the codename was never used commercially hence, it was called the Android Beta version.
The real dessert naming began on Android 1.3 which was called “Cupcake“, followed by Android 1.4 which was called “Donut“. Android 2.0 was nicknamed “Eclair“, then Android 2.2 with the name “Froyo“, and Android 2.3 which was officially called “Gingerbread“.
Android 3.0 was considered as the first tablet-only Android update and was termed “Honeycomb” and it was first used on the Motorola Xoom tablet which was released on 24 February 2011.
Android 4.0.1 was the last Android version to officially used the Flash Player of Adobe Systems. It was nicknamed “Ice Cream Sandwich“. The next version which had incremental updates was called the “Jelly Bean” and was first introduced on the Nexus 7 tablet on 13 July 2012.
The 11th version was first called “Key Lime Pie” but was later changed to its official name, “Kitkat” since most people are not familiar with the taste of a key lime pie. It was first used on the Nexus 5 of Google on 31 October 2013.
The 12th Android version was the first version to become available as an over-the-air (OTA) update for selected devices. Following this version was Android “Marshmallow” and then followed by Android “Nougat“ and finally Android “Oreo“.
Android “Pie” was released this year, 2018, but we will tackle it on another article. We will now focus on the “Oreo” version since Android “Pie” is still on its final beta stage.
I recently updated my Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 system into Android 8.1.0 which was the final update of Oreo. This Asus phone has a battery capacity of a 5000mAh. I bought this phone since I am a gamer especially with the likes of Ingress, Pokemon Go, Guns of Glory, and Asphalt 8. Since games consume so much battery, I had to rely on a phone with a higher capacity of a battery.
Regarding this Android version, here are just some of the notable Oreo improvements for the mobile phone.
♦ Oreo update makes phone boot faster. Gone are the days that the previous Nougat Android version consumes much time. This time, it will be booting even better. I have already experienced this faster booting times especially when I need to restart my phone because of the inefficient data connection of my postpaid mobile plan. It will only take around 21 seconds for my phone to reboot and I am back to gaming again.
♦ Smarter groupings of apps have also been implemented especially in the Settings app. Menus have been rearranged and reclassified into cleverer categories. Just like the Network and Internet category that includes Wi-Fi, Mobile network, Data usage, Hotspot & tethering, SIM cards, Mobile plan, VPN, and Airplane mode while the Connected Devices category has Bluetooth, Cast, Printing, USB, and Chromebook. Clearly, the categories have been rearranged based on its obvious purposes.
♦ An Autofill innovation has been included for the Google Chrome features which also has the capability to sync data across all devices. Of course, the user’s permission is also needed before syncing the personal data which may include personal logins, email addresses, home addresses, credit card information, and other personal information that may be deemed necessary for syncing.
♦ The most remarkable feature is the picture-in-picture mode wherein you can see a smaller version or a small window of what you are watching and will float on top of what you are doing. This is especially true in YouTube or Chrome activities and will soon be implemented with other apps.
♦ Developers also changed the color of the quick settings menu from the previous black color to white color so that it will be noticeable. In line with this quick settings menu, the battery saver replaced the battery icon wherein you will still be able to see the battery life in the status bar located at the top of your phone’s screen.
♦ Dots are also prominent in the Oreo version which is the term used by Google to call icon badges that indicate unread notifications. These dots will be the visual indicator for an alert instead of the precise number of unread notifications. This is a good feature since it will not be too much pressure seeing numbers but instead, your curiosity will be triggered to click on these notification dots.
♦ An engaging additional feature is the new emojis which are very handy for messaging others. If you are a person who loves these cute emoticons to describe what you feel or how you feel or you just want to make your message very appealing instead of typing long words, this is definitely a likable feature.
There are other hidden features that users need to personally search and discover. These include widgets via the app icon wherein you need to do a long-press for the widget to become accessible. There is also an option to prevent apps from running in in the background process thereby saving you enough juice for your battery. Snoozing notification are also available already so that you can just snooze the notification for a later time. Sideloading is also another feature so that you can install APKs from unknown sources in a more safe and secure way.
Clearly, Android operating system has come a long way from being slow to becoming faster. Other features are being added and will soon be implemented as a new version comes along. For the moment, why not try a bite of this Oreo on your mobile phone’s Android system and be updated with the current trend in the Android technology.
