Why trust GreenbotAndroid 7.0 Nougat is beginning its slow rollout to Android devices around the world. Most phones will take time to update, but Nexus owners can already play with ’s latest greatest OS. Nougat brings some cool new features like split-screen multitasking, bundled notifications, Daydream VR. Even with all the improvements, there are still some nagging deficiencies in the Android feature set. Here are the five most glaring omissions from Android 7.0.
Restart option
Come on, . You’re just being stubborn.
Here’s an easy one to start, . ease, just put a restart option in the power menu. Stock Android devices only have “power off” as an option when you long-press the power button. Nine times out of ten when you pull up that menu, you’re not shutting your phone off for an extended period. at you’re really doing is restarting.
Maybe wants to pretend that Android never needs to be restarted like a , but in the real world things go wrong a restart is the fastest way to fix it. Nearly every phone maker has added a restart option to the power menu because it just makes sense. This would be an easy fix that made Android more user-friendly.
Night mode
A UI to save your eyes in the dark didn’t make the cut in Android 7.0.
The lack of night mode options in Android 7.0 is perhaps the most galling omission because keeps teasing us with them. The developer previews for Android M N both had night mode options, but they were removed prior to the final builds. Android’s system interface is almost completely white, so open that in a dark room it’s RIyour retinas. The technology certainly exists to make a dark themed version of that interface. The previews even had a scheduling option that would toggle night mode on at sundown. As an added bonus, a proper system interface night theme might encourage developers to make use of the existing ( underutilized) night theme support to match the system interface.
The Android N developer preview also gave us a glimpse of screen filtering support for use in the evenings. Similar to apps like Twilight, this feature tints the screen red to filter out blue wavelength light. Research suggests that blue light can negatively affect your sleep patterns if you are exposed to it before bed. However, screen overlays from third-party apps aren’t as effective as hling the filter at the system level. This would be a nice feature if can work out the kinks in a future version of Android.
Better app backup management
No, you can’t tap on any of them.
Android gained support for app data backups in Marshmallow, but they haven’t improved in Nougat. en you install an app, is supposed to restore saved data from it. However, that doesn’t always happen. Apps only back up every day or two when your phone is plugged into power, as well. The process is so opaque that you have no hope of fixing any issues that pop up. Some more options for power users would be much appreciated here, .
The only user-facing hint of the app backup feature is in your Drive app settings, which lists the apps on your device. It doesn’t show the other apps you have backed up, you can’t do anything with the ones that are shown—it’s just a list. Ideally, it would be nice to be able to manually trigger a backup or restore from this menu. At least that way you won’t have to wonder if your backed up recently before switching phones or uninstalling an app.
Floating windows
Split-screen is a step in the right direction, but maybe can do better.
Android 7.0 finally adds multi-window functionality, but it’s limited to a split-screen view with two apps. That’s really all that makes sense on smaller phones. On tablets large phones, it would be nice to have the option for a true floating window. Samsung does on its Galaxy devices, though app support is lacking there.
The so-called “freeform window” feature is included in Android 7.0, but it’s limited to Android TV where it’s intended for keeping video playing in a small window while the user does other things on the device. Even limiting this to video apps like Netflix on phones tablets would be great. This won’t be as easy to implement as split-screen, but we can dream.
Easier app uninstalls
Uninstalling one app at a time is a pain.
has made installing updating apps in bulk easy with improvements to the ay Store on both Android the web. Getting rid of all those apps you so cheerfully installed is a tedious pain in the butt, though. You can find the apps in your system settings, app drawer, or in the ay Store to uninstall them. No matter how you do it, uninstalling apps must be one one at a time. If you like to try a lot of apps, it can take quite a while to clear out the junk.
A way to bulk uninstall apps would be a vast improvement. Even bringing back the remote uninstalls that vanished from the web ay Store in the redesign about two years back could make the process less annoying.
’re really nitpicking at this point. These are all things that Android should have, but Nougat is still a nice improvement with plenty of new features. can only hope addresses some of this next time around.
