Android Oreo Explained

Android Oreo
Version Of:Android
Logo Size:100px
Screenshot Size:250px
Developer:Google
Discontinued:yes
Ga Url:Web site: Introducing Android 8.0 Oreo . Burke . Dave . Android Developers Blog . August 21, 2017 . August 28, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190920084147/https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/08/introducing-android-8-oreo.html . September 20, 2019 . live .
Release Version:8.1.0_r93 (OSN1.210329.015)[1]
Kernel Type:Monolithic (Linux)
Latest Preview Version:8.1.0 (OPP6.171019.012)
Preceded By:Android 7.1.2 "Nougat"
Succeeded By:Android 9 "Pie"
Support Status:Unsupported as of October 4, 2021

Android Oreo (codenamed Android O during development) is the eighth major release and the 15th version of the Android mobile operating system.

It was initially unveiled as an alpha quality developer preview in March 2017 and later made available to the public, on August 21, 2017.

It contains a number of major features, including notification channels, picture-in-picture support for video, performance improvements, and battery usage optimization, and support for autofillers, Bluetooth 5, system-level integration with VoIP apps, wide color gamuts, and Wi-Fi Aware. Android Oreo also introduces two major platform features: Android Go – a software distribution of the operating system for low-end devices – and support for implementing a hardware abstraction layer.

As of August 2023 Android Oreo (which has ceased receiving security updates as of October 2021) ran on a combined 4.36% of Android devices (1.07% on Android 8.0 and 3.21% on Android 8.1).[2]

History

Android Oreo was internally codenamed "Oatmeal Cookie."[3] On March 21, 2017, Google released the first developer preview of Android "O",[4] [5] [6] available for the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, Pixel C, and both Pixel smartphones.[7] The second, considered beta quality, was released on May 17, 2017.[8] The third developer preview was released on June 8, 2017, and offered a finalized version of the API. DP3 finalized the release's API to API level 26,[9] changed the camera UI, reverted the Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity levels in the status bar back to Wi-Fi being on the left, added themed notifications, added a battery animation in Settings: Battery, a new icon and darker background for the Clock app, and a teardrop icon shape for apps.

On July 24, 2017, a fourth developer preview was released which included the final system behaviors and the latest bug fixes and optimizations.[10] Android "O" was officially released on August 21, 2017, under the name "Oreo", after the Oreo brand of sandwich cookie. Its lawn statue was unveiled at a promotional event across from Chelsea Market in New York City—a building which formerly housed a Nabisco factory where Oreo cookies were first produced. Factory images were made available for compatible Pixel and Nexus devices later that day.[11] [12] The Sony Xperia XZ1 and Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact were the first devices available with Oreo pre-installed.[13]

Android 8.1 was released in December 2017 for Pixel and Nexus devices, which features minor bug fixes and user interface changes.[14]

Features

User experience

Notifications can be snoozed, and batched into topic-based groups known as "channels".[15] [16] The 'Major Ongoing' feature orders the alerts by priority, pinning the most important application to the top slot.[17] Android Oreo contains integrated support for picture-in-picture modes.[18] [19] [20] [21] The "Settings" app features a new design which has been reduced in size, with a white theme and deeper categorization of different settings,[22] [23] while its ringtone, alarm and notification sound settings now contain an option for adding custom sounds to the list.[24] [25] Tooltips can also be set for views.[26]

The Android 8.1 update supports the display of battery percentages for connected Bluetooth devices, makes the notification shade slightly translucent, and dims the on-screen navigation keys to reduce the possibility of burn-in.[27]

Platform

Android Oreo adds support for Neighborhood Aware Networking (NAN) for Wi-Fi based on Wi-Fi Aware,[28] Bluetooth 5, wide color gamuts in apps,[29] an API for autofillers, multiprocess and Google Browsing support for WebViews, an API to allow system-level integration for VoIP apps, and launching activities on remote displays.[4] Android Runtime (ART) features performance improvements.[4] Android Oreo contains additional limits on apps' background activities to improve battery life.[30] Apps can specify "adaptive icons" for differently-shaped containers specified by themes, such as circles, squares, and squircles.[31]

Android Oreo adds native support for Advanced Audio Coding, aptX, aptX HD and LDAC Bluetooth codecs.[32] Android Oreo supports new emoji that were included in the Unicode 10 standard. A new emoji font was also introduced, which notably redesigns its face figures to use a traditional circular shape, as opposed to the "blob" design that was introduced on KitKat.[33] [34]

The underlying architecture of Android was revised so that low-level, vendor-specific code for supporting a device's hardware can be separated from the Android OS framework using a hardware abstraction layer known as the "vendor interface". Vendor interfaces must be made forward compatible with future versions of Android. This new architecture, called Project Treble,[35] allows the quicker development and deployment of Android updates for devices, as vendors would only need to make the necessary modifications to their bundled software.[36] [37] All devices shipping with Oreo must support a vendor interface, but this feature is optional for devices being updated to Oreo from an earlier version.[38] The "seamless updates" system introduced in Android 7.0 was also modified to download update files directly to the system partition, rather than requiring them to be downloaded to the user partition first. This reduces storage space requirements for system updates.[39]

Android Oreo introduces a new automatic repair system known as "Rescue Party"; if the operating system detects that core system components are persistently crashing during startup, it will automatically perform a series of escalating repair steps. If all automatic repair steps are exhausted, the device will reboot into recovery mode and offer to perform a factory reset.[40] [41]

The Android 8.1 update also introduces a neural network API, which is designed to "[provide] apps with hardware acceleration for on-device machine learning operations." This API is designed for use with machine learning platforms such as TensorFlow Lite, and specialized co-processors such as the Pixel Visual Core (featured in Google's Pixel 2 smartphones, but dormant until 8.1 is installed), but it also provides a CPU fallback mode.[42] [43]

Android Go

See main article: Android Go. A tailored distribution for low-end devices known as Android Go was unveiled for Oreo; it is intended for devices with 1 GB of RAM or less. This mode has platform optimizations designed to reduce mobile data usage (including enabling Data Saver mode by default), and a special suite of Google Mobile Services designed to be less resource- and bandwidth-intensive. The Google Play Store would also highlight lightweight apps suited for these devices.[44] [45] The operating system's interface is also modified, with the quick settings panel providing greater prominence to information regarding the battery, mobile data limit, and available storage, the recent apps menu using a modified layout and being limited to four apps (to reduce RAM consumption), and an API for allowing mobile carriers to implement data tracking and top-ups within the Android settings menu. Google Play Services was also modularized to reduce its memory footprint.

Android Go was made available to OEMs for Android 8.1.

Security

Android Oreo re-brands multiple security features provided by Google Play Services under the blanket name "Google Play Protect", including automatic scanning of Google Play Store and sideloaded apps, and Android Device Manager—which is now branded as "Find My Device". As opposed to a single, system-wide setting for enabling the installation of apps from sources outside of the Google Play Store, this function is now implemented as a permission that can be granted to individual apps (i.e. clients for third-party app repositories such as Amazon Appstore and F-Droid). A verified boot now includes a "Rollback Protection" feature, which enforces a restriction on rolling back the device to a previous version of Android, aimed at preventing a potential thief from bypassing security measures by installing a previous version of the operating system that doesn't have them in place.[46] [47]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Android Source . Google Git . August 3, 2021 . February 3, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230203054147/https://android.googlesource.com/platform/build/+/refs/tags/android-security-8.1.0_r93 . live .
  2. Web site: Mobile & Tablet Android Version Market Share Worldwide. 2023-02-14. StatCounter Global Stats. en. May 13, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220513150919/https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/android/mobile-tablet/worldwide. live.
  3. News: Android 8 Oreo Internal Code Reveals, Features, Affects. Hackming. September 26, 2017. October 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028174400/https://hackming.com/2021/10/android-8-oreo-oatmeal-cookie-internal-code-features.html. dead.
  4. Web site: Dieter . Bohn . Google releases Android O to developers, promising better battery life and notifications . . . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 16, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240316063115/https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/21/14990876/google-android-o-8-update-developer-preview-release-battery-life-notifications-api . live .
  5. Web site: Frederic . Lardinois . Google launches the first developer preview of Android O . . . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170322013917/https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/21/google-launches-the-first-developer-preview-of-android-o-reo-but-dont-get-too-excited-yet/ . live .
  6. Web site: David . Ruddock . Google announces Android O: Focus on power management, notifications, and more . Android Police . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170322090007/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/21/google-announces-android-o-focus-on-power-management-notifications-and-more/ . live .
  7. Web site: Michael . Crider . Android O Developer Preview Supports Nexus 5X and 6P, Nexus Player, Pixel and Pixel XL, and Pixel C . Android Police . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170322204948/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/21/android-o-developer-preview-images-not-betas-available-for-nexus-5x-and-6p-nexus-player-pixel-and-pixel-xl-and-pixel-c/ . live .
  8. Web site: What's New in Android: O Developer Preview 2 & More. May 17, 2017. May 20, 2017. May 20, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170520153444/https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/05/whats-new-in-android-o-developer.html. live.
  9. Web site: Android O Developer Preview 3 launches, finalizes APIs. Ars Technica. June 8, 2017. June 10, 2017. June 9, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170609224516/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/06/android-o-developer-preview-3-launches-finalizes-apis/. live.
  10. News: Developer Preview 4 now available, official Android O coming soon!. Android Developers Blog. July 24, 2017. July 24, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170724175700/https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/07/developer-preview-4-now-available.html. live.
  11. Web site: Google releases Android 8.0 Oreo factory images for Pixel, Nexus as OTA fails for many [Update: Fixed]]. Li. Abner. August 21, 2017. 9to5Google. August 22, 2017. December 21, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191221151653/https://9to5google.com/2017/08/21/google-android-8-oreo-factory-pixel-nexus/. live.
  12. News: Android O finally has a name: Say hello to Oreo. CNET. November 4, 2017. November 7, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107025722/https://www.cnet.com/news/android-oreo-is-here/. live.
  13. Web site: The Xperia XZ1 is available in the U.S. for $700; Xperia XZ1 Compact coming soon. September 19, 2017. Digital Trends. September 20, 2017. May 27, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180527104102/https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/sony-xperia-x-2017-news/. live.
  14. News: Android 8.1 has arrived – here's everything it brings. TechRadar. December 18, 2017. December 19, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171219121840/http://www.techradar.com/news/android-81-is-about-to-arrive-heres-everything-it-brings. live.
  15. Web site: Chaim . Gartenberg . Android O will give you even more control over notifications . . . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 21, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170321195336/http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/21/14988830/google-android-o-notification-channels-app-categories-control . live .
  16. Web site: Corbin . Davenport . Android O feature spotlight: Notification Channels give more controls over notifications to users . Android Police . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170322004311/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/21/android-o-feature-spotlight-notification-channels-simplify-managing-notifications/ . live .
  17. News: Android Oreo review: it's what's inside that counts. The Verge. June 27, 2018. June 27, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180627144310/https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/11/16286012/android-8-review-o-oreo-update-treble-notifications. live.
  18. News: Eight Android Oreo Features You Need to Definitely Check Out. NDTV Gadgets360.com. August 29, 2017. January 9, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220109210224/https://gadgets.ndtv.com/android/features/android-oreo-best-new-features-download-1740960. live.
  19. Web site: YouTube's Picture-in-Picture mode in Oreo is only available to paying Red customers in five countries, and that's a problem. August 29, 2017. Android Police. August 29, 2017. August 29, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170829180526/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/08/29/youtubes-picture-picture-mode-oreo-available-paying-red-customers-five-countries-thats-problem/. live.
  20. Web site: Natt . Garun . Android O brings picture-in-picture support so you can watch YouTube while hailing a Lyft . . . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 21, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170321200316/http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/21/15007754/android-o-developer-preview-picture-in-picture-support . live .
  21. Web site: Ryan . Whitwam . Android O feature spotlight: Picture-in-picture video for all devices and new windowing features . Android Police . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170322205204/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/21/android-o-feature-spotlight-picture-picture-video-devices-new-windowing-features/ . live .
  22. Web site: Hands-on with Android O—A million new settings and an awesome snooze feature. Amadeo. Ron. March 23, 2017. Ars Technica. Condé Nast. April 14, 2017. April 14, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170414233823/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/03/hands-on-with-android-o-snooze-that-notification-and-customize-everything/. live.
  23. Web site: Android 8.0 (Oreo): Features, Review and Updates. Priceurb. Uche. Prinx. December 16, 2020. December 16, 2020. November 7, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201107234242/https://priceurb.com/android-80-oreo-features-review-and/. live.
  24. Web site: Rita . El Khoury . Android O feature spotlight: Easily add custom ringtones, alarm sounds, and notification sounds . Android Police . March 23, 2017 . March 24, 2017 . March 24, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170324023455/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/23/android-o-feature-spotlight-easily-add-custom-ringtones-alarm-sounds-notification-sounds/ . live .
  25. Web site: Nick . Statt . Android O will make it easier to add custom ringtones and notification sounds . . . March 23, 2017 . March 24, 2017 . March 24, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170324000047/http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/23/15042716/android-o-custom-ringtone-notification-sounds-setting . live .
  26. Web site: Tooltips . Android Devlopers.
  27. Web site: Zaharov-Reutt. Alex. Android Oreo 8.1 update released for Google's Pixels and Nexus devices. December 18, 2017. iTWire. July 26, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180726110759/https://www.itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/81120-android-oreo-8-1-update-released-for-google-s-pixels-and-nexus-devices.html. live.
  28. Web site: Ryan . Whitwam . Android O feature spotlight: Neighborhood Aware Networking (NAN) mode for WiFi . Android Police . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170322204637/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/21/android-o-feature-spotlight-neighborhood-aware-networking-nan-mode-wifi/ . live .
  29. Web site: David . Ruddock . Android O feature spotlight: Android will support wide color gamut profiles in apps . Android Police . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170322204613/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/21/feature-spotlight-android-o-will-support-wide-color-gamut-profiles-in-apps-for-capable-displays/ . live .
  30. Web site: Ashley . Carman . Android Oreo will limit what apps can do in the background to save battery life . . . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . March 21, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170321202922/http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/21/14988222/android-o-app-background-run . live .
  31. Web site: Michael . Crider . Android O Feature Spotlight: Adaptive icons give devs and OEMs easy shape masks, extra effects . Android Police . March 21, 2017 . March 21, 2017 . March 22, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170322204602/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/21/android-o-developer-preview-feature-spotlight-adaptive-icons-give-devs-and-oems-easy-shape-masks-extra-effects/ . live .
  32. Web site: How Oreo is better than Nougat: Audio. August 23, 2017. Android Authority. en-US. 2019-12-22. March 23, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200323180047/https://www.androidauthority.com/android-oreo-vs-android-nougat-audio-794775/. live.
  33. Web site: Google redesigns emoji (again) for Android O. GSMArena. May 19, 2017. May 18, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170518230839/http://www.gsmarena.com/google_redesigns_emoji_again_for_android_o-news-25103.php. live.
  34. Web site: Google I/O 2017: Android O to Bring Redesigned Emojis, Full Support for Emoji 5.0 Characters. NDTV. May 18, 2017. May 19, 2017. May 18, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170518114952/http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/google-io-2017-android-o-emoji-5-0-revamp-blob-design-killed-1695244. live.
  35. Web site: Project Treble – Can Android Fix Their Update Problem Now?. Bettershark. December 19, 2018. December 19, 2018. December 19, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181219134434/https://bettershark.com/project-treble/. live.
  36. Web site: Google's "Project Treble" solves one of Android's many update roadblocks. Ars Technica. May 12, 2017. May 12, 2017. December 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171203010312/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/05/google-hopes-to-fix-android-updates-no-really-with-project-treble/. live.
  37. Web site: Iliyan. Malchev. Here comes Treble: A modular base for Android. Android Developers Blog. May 12, 2017. July 18, 2018. July 18, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180718174439/https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/05/here-comes-treble-modular-base-for.html. live.
  38. News: OnePlus won't support Android Oreo's quick OS updates feature. The Verge. November 26, 2017. December 1, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031156/https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/22/16690022/oneplus-5t-android-oreo-project-treble. live.
  39. News: Android 8.0's "streaming OS updates" will work even if your phone is full. Ars Technica. August 7, 2017. August 7, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170807143807/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/08/android-8-0s-streaming-os-updates-will-work-even-if-your-phone-is-full/. live.
  40. Web site: Rescue Party. Android Developers. September 14, 2017. September 14, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170914162423/https://source.android.com/devices/tech/debug/rescue-party. live.
  41. News: This New Android Oreo Feature Helps Rectify Bootloop Issues. NDTV Gadgets360. September 14, 2017. September 14, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170914172216/http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/android-oreo-rescue-party-feature-bootlooping-issues-1741130. live.
  42. News: Android 8.1 Oreo goes final, rolling out now to Pixel and Nexus devices. Ars Technica. January 4, 2018. January 2, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180102090441/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/12/android-8-1-oreo-goes-final-rolling-out-now-to-pixel-and-nexus-devices/. live.
  43. News: Google launches the Android 8.1 Developer Preview. Ars Technica. January 4, 2018. January 5, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180105011915/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/10/google-launches-the-android-8-1-developer-preview/. live.
  44. Web site: "Android Go" will strip Android down for ultra-low-budget phones. Ars Technica. May 17, 2017. Conde Nast. May 19, 2017. August 18, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190818032005/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/05/android-go-will-strip-android-down-for-ultra-low-budget-phones/. live.
  45. Web site: Android Go could help make Android O a runaway success. Engadget. May 19, 2017. May 19, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170519135747/https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/18/android-go-could-help-make-android-o-a-runaway-success/. live.
  46. News: Android 8.0 Oreo, thoroughly reviewed. Ars Technica. September 14, 2017. May 11, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200511165321/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/09/android-8-0-oreo-thoroughly-reviewed/. live.
  47. Web site: Android Oreo feature spotlight: Rollback Protection, a new part of Verified Boot, won't allow you to start a downgraded OS. September 5, 2017. Android Police. September 7, 2017. September 7, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170907015952/http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/09/05/android-oreo-feature-spotlight-changes-verified-boot-wont-allow-start-downgraded-os/. live.

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