Android N News: Split-screen Feature Highlight Of New Android OS

By Liezl Dunuan, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, March 17, 2016

The latest version of the mobile operating system Android that is in development may bring multi-tasking to Android phones and tablets, according to a report in TechRadar. Google is currently developing the yet to be named Android N and it is expected to bring split-screen or multi-window support that will allow users to open two apps at the same time on their devices.

Multi-window support, according to the report, will enable users to do two things at the same time, like composing an email on Gmail while looking at a document in Google Drive. Users may also be able to view YouTube videos in a picture-in-picture mode, something that iOS 9 had earlier introduced. Windows that are open can also be resized as needed. This brings additional possibilities for better productivity on Android devices.

In addition to multi-window support, Android N is also set to introduce "direct reply notifications" which according to the report will allow the user to reply to a message through the notification itself, without needing to go to the application to do so. This feature is said to be applicable not only to Google Hangouts, but also to other third party messaging apps like WhatsApp.

Another new feature that is said to be coming is the bundled notifications feature, which groups notifications together according to what app it uses. All messages from one messaging app will be grouped together, and individual messages can be accessed by tapping on the grouped notification.

An upgrade of the Doze Mode is also coming with Android N. In Android Marshmallow, the Doze Mode allowed users to put their devices on this mode if they want to save on battery life. The upgrade is said to ensure that background tasks are limited once the phone's screen is turned off.

A developer preview of the OS is expected to be available in May 2016, during Google's annual developer conference. According to the report, Google is looking at an October 2016 release for the new OS.