Android O: 5 New Features Revealed In Android Developers 'What's New' Video

A new Android OS update for 2017 is in the works. The company announced the first Android O developer preview last Tuesday and uploaded a video of YouTube detailing the features of the upcoming software update, Monday.

The video, published by Android Developers, highlights major changes aimed at improving privacy, performance, the user interface and much more. While the video is directed mostly at developers, there are many changes, which non-developers can also understand.

Here are 5 new features of the upcoming update indicated in the video:

Limiting location availability: Generally, once you grant an app permission to track your location, it can do so indefinitely unless you switch the feature off. Some apps such as Facebook Messenger have made it time-bound, but they are the exception and not the rule. In fact, Uber recently ran into trouble for tracking riders long after they had debarked from its cabs.

Google is changing this in Android O by limiting location availability to background apps to a few hours. Simply out, an app will only be able to track you indefinitely only if you specifically give it the permission to do so.

Read: Facebook Messenger Live Location Tracking Explained

New Autofill APIs: Android O’s new autofill features will help you fill passwords and online former faster compared to what was available in previous Android versions. The autofill software will be built directly into the apps so that you get the data you need faster, based on your usage pattern.

Picture-in-picture mode: Picture-in-picture mode will help users multi-task better. What it means is that you will be able to watch a YouTube video in a minimized window while using an app on the most of your screen. This would be especially helpful when you are watching a video on how to do something smartphone related. For e.g. you would be able to watch a tutorial on how to clear your smartphone cache and try it at the same time, rather than trying steps and going back and forth between the video and actual application.

Multi-display support: The new update will add multi-display support to Android devices — when you mirror your device on another screen, you will be able carry other activities such as checking the interface and controls on a secondary screen without affecting the primary screen — think of mirroring your phone to your TV and playing a video, but still being able to do stuff on the phone, while the video plays on the TV.

New notifications: Android O will have new notification channels, which will club notifications according to category, priority or preference.

Read: Android O: How To Download Developer Preview

In case you are interested in getting the developer preview on your device, you would have to manually flash it, as an over-the-air version is not available for the first developer preview. A second Android O developer preview is expected in May, followed by a third in June and a fourth in July and a final release in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017, according to Phone Dog.