The groundbreaking new version of Android is chock-full of goodness. Android, the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, just received its most revolutionary update in years. While Android had been steadily receiving useful new features and optimizations over versions 6 (Marshmallow), 7 (Nougat) and 8 (Oreo), those mostly built upon the existing groundwork first laid in version 5 (Lollipop). However, the latest update, version 9 (Pie) is a major redesign for Android that not only improves the user experience as a whole but also adds a plethora of new features that can change the very way a phone can be used.
The overhauled user interface of Android Pie is easily its most noticeable new aspect. While still retaining the essential base of the Material Design philosophy first introduced in Lollipop, Pie makes it look better than ever, having polished it till it shines. Subtle under-the-hood optimizations make the animations feel just right, with user interface elements responding to user interaction in a way that seems as natural as real-world physics. Many elements of the interface, such as the app switcher (recent) and the volume control panel, have been remade in a way that not only looks pleasant but makes so much more sense in terms of usability that it almost makes one wonder why no one thought of these changes before. For example, users can view image or video content in their proper orientation without needing to enable and disable auto-rotation by using a contextually appearing auto-rotation button. System-wide light and dark themes are available, to take advantage of AMOLED screens and save battery power where possible. While these changes appear to be small, their combined effect feels like a giant leap for the platform. The sheer fluidity of Android Pie clearly shows how far Android has come over the years – its balance is now that of a finely honed weapon that readily responds to its master.
Gesture-based navigation is a major part of the Android Pie experience. The three-button navigation system first popularized in Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) has been heavily modified, and while the Home button (and its ability to call up Google Assistant with a long press) still remains intact for the most part, the rest of the navigation system changes contextually to reflect the content being displayed onscreen. For example, in the app switcher screen, the navigation bar vanishes completely and is replaced with a scrubbable horizontal scroll bar that lets the user quickly navigate across the full list of recent apps. The gestures are also very intuitive in nature, with most core parts of the UI accessible through simple swipes. However, the option to retain the classic three-button navigation bar is still there for old-school users who prefer the legacy interface to gestures.
Despite the amazing facelift, Android Pie’s features are far more than skin-deep. The core of the operating system puts an impressive degree of emphasis on artificial intelligence. Unlike previous versions of Android, Pie focuses on learning the intricacies of the user’s usage patterns in case of specific apps and optimizing the system’s background operations accordingly to prevent unnecessary wakeups, vastly improving battery life. The best part of this feature is that these optimizations are not set in stone, and they shift with changes in the user’s app usage because the operating system is constantly in the process of learning what the user needs the most.
Another rather interesting feature of Android Pie is Digital Wellness, a dashboard that aims to inform users about their phone usage habits in an attempt to ‘unglue’ them from their phones, and even lets the user set limits on the amount of time he/she spends on certain apps in order to prevent ‘addiction’. While it may sound strange, remaining informed about how frequently a user unlocks his/her phones, spends on social media or receives notifications can indeed be an eye-opening experience that can, in fact, motivate him/her to change their usage patterns for the better, leaving a positive impact on their mental and physical health. While this is more of a statistical feature than a technological one, it shows a surprisingly human side to Android’s development process, and this, combined with the technological optimizations, can indeed cut down on the time a person needs to spend on their device.
Given how privacy concerns have become a matter of increasingly serious concern in recent years, Android Pie focuses on alleviating some of those fears by clamping down on many permissions that can enable a device to ‘spy’ on its user. For example, as soon as an active app is sent to the background, its access to the camera and microphone is immediately cut off, preventing it from silently capturing data while another app is running.
Notifications are far more useful in Pie, allowing entire categories of routinely ignored/dismissed notifications to be blocked off permanently with a single tap. Messaging apps would also have the privileges of adding templated quick reply options and previews of received images straight to their associated notifications for incoming messages.
Context-sensitive app actions and slices are also new to Android Pie, which predict possible quick courses of actions for its users at certain points. For example, if the user is searching for information on a movie using Google Assistant, a possible app action can pop up for buying tickets to the movie or watching it on Netflix. Slices are an extension of the same idea, which lets certain features of a particular app to be used contextually without firing up the interface of the whole app to take over the foreground. These features are also heavily dependent on individual usage patterns, and they can become incredibly intuitive over time as the device learns more about the user’s phone usage habits.
While it’s yet to be available on most current devices, having rolled out only to Google Pixel phones and the elusive Essential Phone to date, it can be safely said that Android Pie, with everything that it is bringing to the table, is definitely something to look out for with eager anticipation.
