At a time when some users are just receiving Android 7 Nougat update, the next version of Android OS dubbed Android O has been announced by Google. And to make things even easier for developers — and adventurous users — the developer preview for the upcoming operating system has been released.

Following its traditional alphabetical naming system, this codename “O” will be named after a dessert when the final version is released. It started with Android Alpha and Android Beta then sweet trends: Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop, Marshmallow, Nougat and now the Android O?.

The expectation was that Google wouldn’t start talking about Android O until it’s 2017 I/O developer conference later this year. But with the first developer preview, we get a glimpse of some of the new features to watch out for in the next version of Android.

Android O – 9 Best Features

Some of O’s most exciting features are better battery life, easier controls for notifications and picture-in-picture video for both phones and tablets. There’s no guarantee all these features will be in the full release sometime later this year.

1. Battery life

Improving the battery life is one of the biggest and most welcomed features of Android O. Similar to iOS, Android O will limit and manage what apps do in the background while multiple apps are open.

This is one of those “behind the curtain” features that you’ll appreciate even if you can’t see exactly how it works. Just as Dave Burke, VP of Engineering states it: “We’ve put additional automatic limits on what apps can do in the background, in three main areas: implicit broadcasts, background services, and location updates.”

2. Notifications channels

Notifications have always been one of the perennial strong features of Android. In O, you can group your notifications into channels or as Google describes it: “app-defined categories for notification content”. So if you had a channel of apps that are all “news” related, you could interact and control notification settings for all the apps in the news channel at once.

3. Snooze notifications

Sometimes as wonderful as notifications are, you just need them to be quiet for a little while. Android O gives you the ability to snooze notifications simply by sliding your finger across a notification and then selecting how long to snooze it for 15, 30 or 60 minutes.

4. Picture-in-picture

While we’ve seen picture-in-picture video for the iPad, we’ve yet to see it fully functioning on a phone. Android O brings the ability to keep a video playing while interacting with another app. To what extent this feature is incorporated into video apps like Netflix and HBO Now remains to be seen. But hopefully, you’ll be able to keep watching “Game Of Thrones” as you check the weather to see if winter is indeed coming. (Spoiler: It is.)

5. Lock screen shortcuts

On the lock screen in Android Nougat, there is a microphone icon for quick access to Google Assistant and a camera icon for quick access to take a picture. Android O will allow you to customize your lock screen with even more shortcuts.

6. Autofill system wide

If you use a password manager app, Android O gives you easy yet secure access to it across your device via autofill. You will be able to select which password manager app you want to take advantage of a system-wide autofill feature. This is similar to the way you can now select which keyboard to use across your apps on your phone.

7. Wide-gamut color

What the heck is wide-gamut color? Exactly. While this feature might not mean much to you now, it’s really about future proofing. As displays improve with newer phones and tablets, your apps will be able to take full advantage of all the colors and their subtleties. Just imagine how amazing all your cat pics will look.

8. HiFi Bluetooth audio

Your phone will now be able to wirelessly stream higher quality audio. Obviously, to fully hear the higher quality depends on the quality of the audio recording and the speaker or headphone with which you’re listening to it. This is a big plus for any audiophiles out there.

9. Keyboard shortcuts

Good news if you use a keyboard with an Android tablet: Android O gives better support for developers to make navigation and shortcuts easier to use via a physical keyboard. Could this pave the way for Android laptops, and maybe Chromebooks?

What’s next for Android O?

This is a very early build of Android O so we can’t say what other features will be added in the future. It’s so early, that we don’t even know what sweet treat Android O is named after! Oreo? Oatmeal cookie? Orangesicle?

Meanwhile, Google has also announced May 17-19 as the date for Google i/o, it’s annual developer conference where the code name and every other detail of the final version of the OS will be announced.

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