INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Android Pie is the official name of Google's Android P operating system, and the final software is now available on Pixel phones and the
Essential Phone today and coming to additional devices throughout this year and next year.It's a feature-filled Android 9 Pie update, with
design changes, helpful shortcuts, and a big focus on AI through adaptive settings
Google is trying to make your phone more personal, more efficient, and easier to use.We have a full Android Pie features list below, along
with a phones list, detailing which devices are compatible
The Android Pie release date will be staggered for many people, with manufacturers like Samsung, LG and others (and in the US, the carriers)
required to tweak the software
Android Pie may launch in 2018 for some, but in many cases you'll have to wait until 2019.Now that the Android P beta is over, let's move
the newest version of AndroidWhen can get you Android Pie Today on Pixel phones, 2018-2019 for othersHow much will Android Pie cost It will
Pixel phones via a free over-the-air update
It's 'rolling out', according to Google, so you might not see it right away as others hammer the Android 9 server.The Essential Phone is
released! Check your phone now for the update
'Android Pie release date: Soon (by December 21)Good news for Sony, Xiaomi, HMD Global, Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus users as well as qualifying
Google says that these companies, which all participated in the Android Pie beta along with Essential, will issue the update by the end of
autumn (so before Friday, December 21).SonyXiaomiHMD GlobalOppoVivoOnePlusSelect Android One phonesAndroid Pie release date: Later
(2018-2019)What about an Android Pie release date for Samsung, LG, Motorola and other phones We expect many other manufacturers to announce
launch dates over the course of the next several months and into next year, as per usual
This is typical of Android updates, especially in the US where carrier approval is required.There's one more set of devices that could get
Android Pie early: the rumored Google Pixel 3 phones, which we suspect will launch in October (October 4 to be specific)
All of the Pixel 3 phones are still unannounced.Onto the major Android Pie features.Adaptive battery lifeAndroid Pie has been designed to
give you a more consistent battery by using on-device machine learning to figure out which apps you'll use in the next few hours and which
you won't use until later, if at all today.With 30% reeducation in CPU app wake-ups for apps, adaptive battery helped us eke out a few more
hours of device use when we tested it
having a big effect on Android battery life, according to Dave Burke, Google's VP of Engineering for Android
Adaptive brightness is the most meaningful new Android Pe feature in our own deep minds.Adaptive brightnessCurrent auto-brightness settings
aren't good enough, according to Google, and that's why it's giving phone makers a more power efficient way to calibrate phone screen
brightness based on both the environment and learned behavior.Google calls this adaptive brightness and claims that 50% of users who tested
this Android Pie feature have stopped manually adjusting the brightness because of it
Even if you still reach to manually adjust the brightness, overall, you should be doing it less
That's what we experiencing when running Android Pie on a Pixel 2.App actionsGoogle is inserting more prediction tools into its app drawer
Previously, you'd see a top row of predicted apps, normally based on your usage history
That was helpful.Android Pie goes a step further with app actions that predict what you'll do next, and these shortcuts sit in a row right
underneath the predicted app icons
This boils down to shortcuts for calls, or a run routine based on the fact that you just plugged in headphones and run every day at this
time with an app like Strava
It's like Android Pie is reading your mind.App slicesYou won't see app slices until later this year, but Google has issued an API to
developers to create more shortcuts around its operating system interface
This is starting in search, of course (after all, this is Google, we're talking about).The best example at Google IO was with the
Searching for 'Lyft' will provide the app as an answer, but also shortcuts to your top destinations, like work and home, each with a price
It's saving you from having to go into the app menus in order to select these options.App slices via the search bar can extend to Google
If you look up Hawaii, you'll see photos from a vacation, for example, and checking into a hotel may soon be easier when you look up your
Instead of having to wade through the clunky third-party app, you may be able to just select 'check in'.Android Pie navigation
changesAndroid Pie has a new system navigation interface in order to make multi-tasking easier to understand, with a single clean home
It's very much an iPhone X horizontal bar to replace the typical home and recent buttons.This is part of Google's plan to make the UI
simpler and adapt to the all-screen phone designs out there
It's more approachable to new users, according Google.You can swipe up from the bottom anywhere in the operating system to see recent open
apps as well as five predicted app at the bottom of the screen to save you time
Swiping up a second time and you'll see your app drawer
With this one-two swipe gesture, Google has essentially combined the all-apps and overview spaces gesture into one.You can do one better
than Apple's iPhone interface
Android Pie will let you scroll through all of your apps very quickly by sliding right and left with the horizontal bar at the bottom
It's like a video you're scrubbing through, but for app selection.Form our experience, it takes time to get used to the navigation changes
(as do almost all software changes), but retraining your brain for Android Pie is worth it in the end
side near the volume rocker
That makes sense, but it does more than just get a new home.Pressing the volume keys will now adjust the media volume instead of sometimes
(but you're not quite sure when) controlling the ringer volume
The ringer can be turned on and off through a software toggle button when you adjust the volume
Your reaction may be like ours: "Why wasn't it always this way!"You can also now manually control screen orientation
This is done via a pop-up icon that appears when you rotate the screen
You won't have to rely on the phone to (often mistakenly) rotate the screen for you.Android Pie 'Digital Wellbeing'It's no secret that we
use our smartphones too much, and you probably do, too (you are on a technology website, after all)
But how much timeLike a Fitbit tracker gauges for activity and informs to motivate you, Google's Android Pie update includes a 'Digital
Wellbeing' dashboard to monitor how long you've been using your phone and specific apps.Digital Wellbeing is supposed to aid you in
notifications when you cross a self-imposed threshold, and a new Shush feature is launching as a Do Not Disturb shortcut when you turn your
phone over on its front face
In addition to silencing alarms, it won't even display visual notifications
Think of Google as eliminating both audible and visual noise from your life when these modes are enabled.Making room for more Android notch
everyone but Samsung.Image 3 of 3iPhone X-sized notchThe use of a notch cutout means that some of Android's standard interface staples
have shifted.Looking for the time It's now on the top left corner of the screen
App notification icons pile next to it, which could get dicey if A.) you use a lot of apps, or B.) your next Android phone has a notch
(Google has planned ahead for this, thankfully.)Some other design changes we noticed: Text is more sharp, there's generally more color in
the menus, transition animations have been touched up, and some stuff has been moved around
It looks and feels fresh, even in this very early software build.The Pixel Launcher now has a rounded-off edge, matching the look of
notification windows that you see when you wake up your phone
This is obviously a minor touch, but it plays into the overall look that Google is going for with Android Pie.Ambient Display has been
overhauled, at least compared to what came before it on Pixel XL and what currently exists on the latest Pixel 2 XL Oreo software
The date and day of week no longer display underneath the time, but it still displays app notification icons.You'll have to squint to notice
this welcome improvementThe biggest change here is that down at the screen's bottom, it displays the battery percentage, so that you don't
have to wake it to know whether you need to plug in or not
We look forward to Google making more updates to Ambient Display as the dev preview continues.We also have a wish list for Wear
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