Pixel C
Android
7.0 “N” probably won’t arrive until late next
year, but Google is already teasing one of its key features. In a recent Reddit
AMA, the team behind the Pixel C hinted that split screen support is currently
in development.
“We’re working on lots of things right now for N that, of course, we
wish we had, you know, yesterday,” said Andrew Bowers, Google’s director for consumer hardware. “But we’d spoil the surprise of N
if we shared all of them. Split screen is in the works!”
In the
meantime, the team says it’s working on smaller
updates for the Pixel C. Google apparently plans to roll out regular
improvements to the convertible tablet similar to its monthly Nexus security
updates. That should include the addition of always-on “Ok Google” support, which is missing
from the new tablet at launch.
Finally,
the team admitted that the Android ecosystem is still pretty lacking when it
comes to tablet-optimized apps. “We’re spending a lot of time working with developers to get better
and more awesome tablet apps,” said Glen Murphy, Director
of UX for Android and Chrome. “But it is definitely a
chicken-egg problem, and we think a key driver is awesome hardware.”
Apple
added multitasking functionality into iOS 9 this year for its iPads and we've
seen similar functionality in Windows for a few years now. Android hardware manufacturers have jumped in before
and made their own version of the multitasking system.
Support
for ‘OK Google,’ handsfree activation which has been missing on the Pixel C tablet
is also expected to make its way in the coming updates.
The team also mentioned that they are working on
bringing DisplayPort support for USB Type-C connector. The working of this
might be similar to Windows Continuum feature.
Android N
is likely to launch late next year, but it's currently unclear what it'll
include. We wouldn't expect a major redesign after the look change on Android 5.0
Lollipop last year, but it's likely to include a variety of new big features
that make Google's software even more useful.
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