[Android Apps and Games] jeremy.jm.wilson:
I have good news and bad. There’s a new, candy-themed version of Android. Huzzah! But unless you have one of the latest Nexus devices or the new LG V20, you’ll probably have to wait some indeterminable amount of time to sink your teeth into Android 7.0 Nougat.

Here’s a very specific kind of dumbness that my fellow Androidians may be able to relate to: On the desk in front of me sits a brand spanking new Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and a three-year-old Asus Nexus 7 tablet. Nougat arrived on Aug. 22, but neither the S7 Edge nor the tablet from the Nexus family of devices that’s supposed to get these updates pronto have received Android 7.0.

WTF, Alphabet?

The Nougat rollout is already shaping up to be yet another frustratingly prolonged Android update. I love me some Android, but boy do these rollouts stand in stark contrast to the lightning-quick updates delivered en masse to our iOS brethren. (What’s up, iOS 10!)

The Android conundrum is a classic clusterfudge of too many interested parties: Google releases a new version of Android each year and gives it to the world for free, just like Apple. BUT then the two processes begin to diverge. Each device manufacturer (your Samsungs, LGs, and HTCs of the world) feels compelled to create their own spin on Android, which requires further tinkering and testing before it’s let loose into the wild. THEN the carriers have to confirm all these various flavors of Android work nicely with their networks. Oy.

There is, however, one upside to working with all these chefs—many new ideas get into the mix. It’s a weird form of bottom-up democracy where each OEM adds their own little flavor (including all new features), which Google often makes standard in future generations of Android (e.g. the ability to reply to an SMS directly in the notification shade, which you can now do in stock Nougat, but has been available in Samsung phones for several generations). While Apple users are usually the first to receive the latest stable release of a new OS, Android users are often the first to get a splashy new software feature. (Enjoy your latest up-to-date OS, Appleface, I’ll just be over here enjoying my live-updating widgets #boom.)

New things that now come standard inside the stock version of Nougat. Note that I tested these on a new Nexus 6P. Some of these features may not be available on your device whenever you eventually get Nougat, and I cannot guarantee that they will work in exact same way. Good luck, people.

Nougat

Split-Screen Mode

Split-screen functionality might not seem all that new since it’s already available in numerous OEM versions (the Galaxy Note, for example, has included it for several generations now). But now it’s available as a stock feature and may be coming to your device soon eventually maybe.

Split-screen works in portrait and landscape modes. When you have one app open, you can simultaneously access another app by long-pressing the recent apps button (the little square one) to prompt a carousel of apps on the side. (You’ll notice that once you enter split-screen mode, the recent apps button transforms into a new hamburger icon.) You have some limited ability to resize windows (but only in portrait mode?). You can exit spit-screen by dragging the barrier all the way to one side or long-pressing on the recent apps button.

Note: Not all apps yet work with split-screen. For example (and quite surprisingly), the Google Search app doesn’t play nicely with split-screen (but you work around that by long-pressing on the home button for Google on Tap).

Android 7.0

Quick Switch

Nougat now allows you to switch back and forth between the two most recent apps by double tapping the recent app button—it works in split-screen or full-app mode. Seems like this helpful little trick should have been a standard feature a long time ago.

Android 7.0

The Secret ‘UI Tuner’

To enable the hidden “UI Tuner” menu, swipe down the notification shade and long-press the gear icon you would use to get to Settings. You’ll find a new menu in your Settings menu under the “System” section. Enacting this feature prompts a warning that you’re about to encounter “experimental features” that “may change, break, or disappear in future releases. Proceed with caution.”

Here you’ll find some cool options like the ability to tweak the status bar, the “Do not disturb” feature, or even add swipe-up, split-screen functionality.

Have fun exploring, but keep in mind that there’s a good chance you won’t be able to use this one. The UI Tuner was available in stock Marshmallow, but didn’t quite make it to my current Samsung phone’s version of 'Mallow. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that this feature will not be available in most OEM versions of Android. But give it a shot, who knows, you might get lucky?

Android 7.0

Easy Pull-Down Shade Editing

Want easy access to tiles of your choice through the top pull-down shade? Nougat’s got your back.

Once you pull down the top shade, expand the little arrow on the right to see a fuller list of easy-access tiles (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane Mode, etc.). Nougat gives you some freedom to choose which tiles live there permanently. Just hit the “edit” button on the bottom-right corner to access the complete list of tiles, and you can drag to re-order.

Another welcome change: The pull-down shade allows you to swipe left or right to multiple pages to access more tiles. You could, theoretically put all your tiles up there for quick access.

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Power Notifications

Are you a total control freak? Well, Nougat gives you some more of that control you need, you power-hungry monster.

First, you’ll need to enact the aforementioned hidden UI Tuner and then toggle-on “Power notification controls” (under the “Other” menu). This gives you the opportunity to set app notifications on a scale from Level 0 (Block all notifications) all the way up to Level 5 (Show at the top of the notification list, allow full-screen disruption).

Now, when you go into Settings > Notifications, you’ll be able to set each of your app’s notification level after tapping the large green “A” to the slide’s left (which I assume stands for “auto”?).

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Easy Notification Editing

Nougat gives you the ability to easily access app-notification preferences by long-pressing on a particular notification in the pull-down shade or slightly pushing it to either side to reveal a little gear icon. This little trick even works on the lock screen.

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Set a Separate Wallpaper for Lock and Home Screens

This feature was already available from many OEMs, but finally makes its long-overdue stock debut with Nougat. It’s simple to access: Long-press on the home screen to change the wallpaper image (as you would usually) and once you choose which pic you want, you’ll be met with a screen asking if you’d like to make that wallpaper for your home screen, lock screen, or both.

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Display Size

Are your eyes not what they used to be? By which I mean, do you need things to be BIGGER so you can see them properly? Well, ol’ stock Android might be able to help.

You can now change the “display” size on your device to embiggen all the text and icons. Access this option via Display > Display size to choose between five different settings.

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Easter Egg

And of course, as always, Google engineers make sure to never miss an opportunity to show the world that they suffer from an overabundance of free time. Yes, Nougat has a hidden Easter egg.

The last two Android OSes have boasted hidden Flappy Bird games with either Marshmallow or Lollipop themes. It was super hard, and I always just got bored and frustrated. But Nougat changes it up with some kind of weird cat game. Okay, this one’s a little complicated, so here’s what you do:

You initially access this Easter egg like the others: Settings > About Phone > repeatedly tap “Android 7.0” (or whatever version you have) to prompt a giant Nougat logo (a big “N”).

Loooooong tap the logo until you see a little cat emoji at the bottom of the screen.

Swipe down from the top to bring up the notification shade.

Hit “Edit” and scroll down and you’ll find a little cat face icon with the label “??? Android Easter egg.” Drag and drop that above the fold wherever you’d like.

Now when you swipe down the shade, you’ll see a tile for “empty plate.” Tap that to prompt a choice of four cat treats and choose one.

Now, wait. Eventually your phone will notify you that you’ve caught a cat. Have fun with that.