Google has announced the shipping version of the Android 9, initially for its Pixel phones.
Typically, Android names come alphabetically and after something sugary. For example, the previous Android version, Android 8, was called Oreo. Before that, the name was Android 7 Nougat. This was preceded by Marshmallow 6 and Lollipop 5.
As for Android 9, its the the ninth major update and the 16th version of the Android operating system.
It was first announced on March 7, 2018 as Android P when Google released the developer preview of the operating system. Using API level 28, the second preview of the operating system was released on May 8, 2018, the third preview was released on June 6, 2018, the fourth preview was on July 2, 2018, and the final beta of Android P was released on July 25, 2018.
It was on August 6th that Google finally revealed Android P's name. Google calls it Android 9 'Pie'.
Notable features and updates introduced in Android Pie, include:
- New user interface for quick settings menu.
- The clock on the notification bar is moved to the left.
- A "Screenshot" button has been added.
- A "Lockdown" mode which disables biometric authentication once activated.
- Rounded corners across the graphical user interface.
- New transition animations.
- Richer messaging notifications.
- Support for display cutouts.
- Redesigned volume slider.
- Battery percentage can be shown in Always-On Display.
- HDR VP9 Video and HEIF image compression.
- A new gesture-based system interface.
- A redesigned horizontal multitask app switcher with Google search bar and app drawer built in.
- A "Digital Wellbeing" feature which discourages excessive phone usage.
- An Adaptive Battery feature to maximize battery power.
- Improved Adaptive Brightness feature.
- Manual theme selection.
- And more
The highlights of Android Pie, is the 'Digital Wellbring" dashboard. It also has AI-enhanced improvements to the UI, and features to include new status bar that is designed to work better with notches.
However, the official release of Android P does not include all feature that Google announced at its I/O conference.
As usual, Google is releasing Android 9 Pie to Pixel users first, before making it available to other Android phones. Several manufacturers that participated in the Android P beta program, including Sony, Xiaomi, Nokia, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, and Essential, as well as all qualifying Android One devices, are prioritized to get the update.
As of July 2018, About 12 percent of Android users use Android Oreo. Almost 75 percent use three previous versions: Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop.
By comparison, 81 percent of Apple's iPhones are on iOS 11. The operating system version was first released in September 2017,.