Google’s upcoming Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones are going to be the first devices that will run the new Android 7.1 Nougat operating system. The company has now revealed the official changelog of the new OS along with the changelog of Android October Security bulletin.
The latest monthly security update addresses 78 security flaws, among which are 15 high severity issues and 5 moderate vulnerabilities in core Android components. There were also seven critical-level issues for Android drivers and vendor-specific components. The complete list of changes are here.
As for the Android 7.1 Nougat update, there are going to be some Pixel-specific features, such as Pixel Launcher, Google Assistant, Smart Storage, Pixel Camera and more. Below are the changes:
Pixel product-specific
- Pixel Launcher – swipe up for all apps, new Search Box, date/weather header on home
- Google Assistant
- Unlimited original quality photo/video backup to Google Photos
- Smart Storage – when storage is full, automatically removes old backed up photos/videos
- Phone/Chat support (new support tab in settings), screen-share functionality
- Quick switch adapter for wired setup from Android or iPhone
- Pixel Camera: Electronic Image Stabilization (“video stabilization”) 2.0
Pro Features:
- White Balance Presets
- Exposure Compensation
- AE/AF Locking
- Viewfinder grid modes
- HW-accelerated (on Qualcomm Hexagon coprocessor) HDR+ image processing
- Smartburst
- Sensor Hub processor with tightly integrated sensors (accel, gyro, mag) + connectivity (Wi-Fi, Cell, GPS)
Cosmetic:
- Solid navbar icons with home affordance for Assistant
- SysUI accent color theming
- Wallpaper picker with new wallpapers and sounds
- New setup look and feel
- Dynamic calendar date icon
Android Nougat 7.1
- Night Light
- Touch/display performance improvements
- Moves (Fingerprint swipe down gesture – opt-in)
- Seamless A/B system updates
- Daydream VR mode
Developer features:
- App shortcuts / shortcut manager APIs
- Circular app icons support
- Keyboard image insertion
- Fingerprint sensor gesture to open/close notification shade
- Manual storage manager Intent for apps
- Improved VR thread scheduling
- Enhanced wallpaper metadata
- Multi-endpoint call support
- Support for various MNO requirements
- PCDMA voice privacy property
- Source type support for Visual Voicemail
- Carrier config options for managing video telephony
- Manual storage manager – identifies apps and files and apps using storage
