Finally, at long last and after a period of consulting with public opinion, Google has announced the official name of Android N, it is called *drum roll*: ANDROID NOUGAT. Yes, the people have spoken and they wanted Android 7.0 to be named after the nutty confectionary, the stuff that, amongst other places, you find inside a Mars bar. With the announcement of the name confirmed and talk already in circulation from major OEMs on forthcoming updates, it appears the final rollout is not terribly far off. Not to mention that after a long period of mysterious silence rumours and leaks are suddenly hotting up about the next crop of Nexus phones from HTC - the Sailfish and Marlin. In all likelihood these two phones will be launched within the next couple of months around the same time that Android Nougat is officially pushed to existing Nexus products. As per usual, third parties like Samsung and LG will prep their software updates to follow in the run up to Christmas and New Year, and into 2017. Where the whole cycle will start all over again!
Google talked about its plans for Android in the future pretty extensively at this year’s Google I/O 2016. The company has ideas about how it can solve fragmentation in its platform, but these are just ideas and it will still be quite some time before we see any advancements in this regard.
Something is required, though. Recent figures from Google’s Android Usage Page reveals just 10% of current Android handsets are running Android Marshmallow — that is an exceptionally low figure for a platform as big as Android. Even more so when you compare adoption rates to Apple’s iOS platform, despite the differences between how Google and Apple do things.
Here’s a break down of the Android spread across devices between May and June:
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow (October 2015): Up 2.6 points to 10.1 percent
- Android 5.0/5.1 Lollipop (November 2014, March 2015): Down 0.2 points to 35.4 percent
- Android 4.4 KitKat (October 2013): Down 0.9 points to 31.6 percent
- Android 4.1/4.2/4.3 Jelly Bean (July 2012, November 2012, and July 2013): Down 1.2 points to 18.9 percent
- Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (December 2011): Down 0.1 points to 1.9 percent
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread (February 2011): Down 0.2 points to 2.0 percent
- Android 2.2 Froyo (May 2010): Flat at 0.1 percent
Google Home was also announced and it is very similar to Amazon Echo. The device is designed to sit in your home and you talk to it -- questions, requests, casting. Home does it all. This is Google’s first foray into the world of AI and this is its first, true AI product.
Android Nougat Release Date: When Will It Be Available?
There’s been a lot of beta versions of Android N, but when the actual, gold-standard version will arrive is still a bit vague. Google has mentioned a possible Q3 launch, meaning it could be here before September, although it could be sooner. The final dev-build is planned for July, so an August release certainly isn’t out of the question.
As to whether the next version of Android will be called Android 7 remains to be seen. Google has opted in the past to treat updates as increments within a solid number like Android Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean and KitKat which were versions 4.0, 4.1 and 4.4 respectively, meaning there is a chance Android N could remain in the Marshmallow numerical system.
HOWEVER, Samsung did drop a clanger not so long ago when it confirmed the next version of Android would be called Android 7 inside its MultiWindow SDK 1.3.1, which stated, “this version has been released with Android N(7.0) compatibility.”
This next version of Android looks to be rather special too, and that usually means a big number update. Things like Daydream, design tweaks and the like are usually reserved for when Google changes numbers — just as with Apple’s iPhones. Big changes warrant solid number updates in the branding, as it connotes something more than the usual, incremental tweaks.
Android Nougat Update: When Will YOUR Phone Get It?
As of right now, this is the Android N update schedule for Nexus:
- March: Android N developer preview 1 (alpha)
- April: Android N developer preview 2 (beta)
- May: Android N developer preview 3 (beta)
- June: Android N developer preview 4 (with final APIs and SDK)
- July: Android N developer preview 5 (near-final build)
- August/September: Final Android 7.0 AOSP build
Nexus is always first inline. This is why KYM has been recommending Nexus handsets for years. If you love Android and hate bloatware there really is no better handset. Last year’s Nexus 6P was superb in almost every regard and this year’s Nexus 2016 phones — both of which apparently HTC-built — are shaping up to be utterly awesome, if present rumours are taken at face value.
But if you, like the majority of Android users, aren't rocking a Nexus handset, well, you might just have to wait that little bit longer for Android N to arrive on your device. The reasons for this are myriad. Unfortunately, long delays on Android updates, even for flagship phones, is a fact of life within the Android Kingdom.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at each of Google’s major hardware partner’s track-records with Android updates.
Samsung Android Nougat Update
Being the biggest doesn’t mean being the best when it comes to Android updates. Samsung has consistently been rubbish at getting Android updates out in a timely fashion and we DO NOT expect that to change with Android N.
It took Samsung five months to sort out its first Android Marshmallow update last year, for instance. Android Marshmallow launched on Sept. 29 and Samsung pushed its first update out to the Galaxy Note 5 (Verizon) on March 3, 2016.
What does this mean for Android N? Simple: you probably won’t be getting it on your Galaxy S7 until at least Q1 2017.
HTC Android Nougat Update
HTC did A LOT better than Samsung last year with updates; Android Marshmallow landed on the HTC One M9 in December, just two months after Google’s official release.
Unlike Samsung, HTC has A LOT to prove in 2016. The HTC 10 is up against one of the strongest Android lineups in recent memory with the LG G5 and Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 EDGE, so the company needs to ensure it delivers the goods with respect to timely Android updates.
Best case scenario? The HTC 10 will be rocking Android N by December, just in time for Christmas.
BlackBerry Android Nougat Update
BlackBerry was VERY slow with its Android Marshmallow update, but seeing as the company is pretty much brand new to the whole Android update saga, we’ll cut it some slack.
The company is more focussed on securing Google’s platform and refining the overall experience of using the software on its current PRIV model, which is fine — we like what they’re doing. A lot.
With this in mind, it is difficult to make assumptions about Android N for the PRIV or, indeed, BlackBerry’s upcoming Android phones. It could do a complete 180º and get the update out in double-quick time, which would be awesome.
This isn’t all that likely though, so for now we’ll err on the side of caution and predict a Q2 2017 release for Android N on BlackBerry phones.
LG Android Nougat Update
God I love LG. The LG G5 is easily my favourite phone of the year so far. You can read why here — LG G5 Review: 2016’s Most Interesting Android Phone.
Like HTC, LG has been pretty good with its Android updates — the company was the first, save for Google, to get a carrier version of Android 6 out the gates. The first Android Marshmallow update landed on the LG G4 in December 2015. The V10 and G3 received the same update in March.
This means we could be looking at an Android N update for the LG G5 in December — and, early-December at that.
Huawei Android Nougat Update
Huawei has come in leaps and bounds during the past 18 months. It was also one of the first handset makers to get an Android Marshmallow phone out — the AWESOME Huawei Mate 8 shipped with Android 6 during November, just one month after Google released the software.
This puts Huawei in very good stead, as it is confirmed to be updating its Mate line at exactly the same time this year — November. If this happens, an entirely plausible potential, then Huawei would have one of the first, save for Google’s Nexus phones, Android N phone on market.
Expect the Huawei P9 and Mate 8 to get the same treatment during December at the earliest.
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