It’s been quite some time since the new Google OS, Android 7.0 Nougat rolled out with the Nexus devices. With time, most of the premium phone OEMs and carriers have updated their devices to welcome some great and much-needed features of 7.0 Nougat.

Let’s take a look at the cool features of the new Google OS.

Quick app switching

With the latest Android update, it’s hello convenience!

Switching between Apps has been made a whole lot easier with 7.0 Nougat. Imagine you are casually browsing through your Facebook newsfeed and your Whatsapp notification pops up. The usual course of action is to tap the app overview (otherwise known as the recent app menu, multi-tasking menu or simply put, the tiny square button at the bottom of your screen) and switch to the application.

With the latest update, all you need to do is double-tap the recent app menu and the last app that you have opened will appear. You can easily go back and forth to the two recently used app with the double-tap option.

Bonus: Tired of dismissing recent apps one by one in the app overview section? The newest update is redesigned to showcase a few recent apps and the users can glide to the top to view the rest. And when you scroll to the very end, the clear all button helps you clear all the recent apps instantly.

Split-screen mode

The split-screen functionality may not be a huge step for some of the smartphone users as certain manufacturers, say Samsung Galaxy Note, have included them a long time ago. However, with the Nougat update, the split-screen Mode is now a default feature.

You can activate the split mode in two ways. You can either long press the recent apps button while on an app. You can then choose the app you wish to view on the second half. The second way is to long press the recent apps button while viewing the list of apps in the app preview card. Navigate through the apps to choose which two apps appear in the split mode.
The split mode works in both landscape and portrait mode. While you can adjust the height of the app screens in the portrait mode, you are stuck with an equal viewing in the landscape mode.

This is a great upgrade for users who love to multi-task. Also, while in the split-mode, you can transfer text by long-pressing the content until it floats and later drag and drop it to the next app. Files can also be transferred the same way between apps.

Bundled Notifications

Notifications have got their own little redesign with Android 7.0 Nougat. You can now view a compact version of notifications on your lock screen, a slightly expanded version with little information and the expanded view with ‘quick actions’. The bundled notifications package multiple notifications from a single app and display them along with the other app notifications. With a drag gesture, you can expand and view the information.

The ‘quick actions’ take the user experience one step further with the instant reply, archive, call back, message and cancel update features that can be performed without even opening the app.

Bonus: You can also adjust your notification settings app-by-app, i.e., either block them or put them in the silent or general mode. You can also set priority for certain notifications.

Other notable Nougat features:

• The new and improved UI tuner lets you add new quick setting options. You can also slide down the tuner and select the gear button for exploring cool setting options like ‘Do not disturb’ and lots more.
• Personalise the data usage for each app and restrict data usage for certain unwanted apps.
• You can now set a different wallpaper for home screen and lock screen.
• Adjust the display size of both text and icons.
• Android 7.0 brings 72 new emojis with variation in skin tones and gender, as opposed to the previous gender specific ones.

That’s a wrap on some of the exciting new features of Android 7.0 Nougat. While the features may either go unnoticed or be too tasking for the users, some of these essential features are a definite step for the overall improvement in user experience of Android users.