The newest version of Android is out!
It’s that time again folks: Google has officially unveiled the name of the latest iteration of their Android operating system. Surprisingly, Android P is simply Android Pie, despite the abundance of delightfully sweet delicacies that start with the letter P.
The newest version of Google’s venerable Android OS brings a lot of AI smarts, anticipating your usage and your habits to maximize your battery. Adaptive Battery learns the apps you use most often, while Adaptive Brightness learns how you set your brightness during different settings and apps.
Android Pie also tries to predict what app you’re going to launch next depending on what day and time it is. Once it learns you like launching Waze, then Spotify at 6 AM for your morning commute, it’ll suggest doing that the next day. If you’re the sort that listens to audiobooks right after you plug in your headphones, Android Pie will suggest that course of action next time.
Google’s also made Android Pie easier to navigate thanks to a single home button. Swiping up shows you Overview, giving you a snapshot of all your recently used apps. Smart Text selection now also works on Overview, which makes it easier for you to copy and paste a phone number from your email over to Facebook Messenger, for example.
Google also recognizes that people are spending way too much time on their phone nowadays, and have put in ways for you to easily keep track of the time you spend on apps. A new Dashboard breaks down exactly how much time you spend on each app, and an App Timer lets you put specific time limits on apps, greying them out once you’ve hit your daily quota. Do Not Disturb keeps all of the visual notifications away from the display, while Wind Down turns on Do Not Disturb Mode and grayscales the display for you when you’re heading to bed.
Android 9.0 Pie is already heading to Google Pixel phones today via OTA. Devices that participated in the Android Pie beta as well as qualifying Android One devices will be getting the update this Fall, or around November.
