AT&T is rolling out Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow for Samsung Galaxy Tab S2. (Photo : YouTube/ Waqar Khan)
Beta two of the next Android or Android N Developer Preview 2 started seeding Wednesday this week, further triggering speculations that the arrival of the final cut is fast approaching. As a result, rumors are firing up too that the Nexus 2016 release date is near with Google's annual I/O Developers Conference in May just a few weeks away.
Google jumped to the second stage of the public testing for Android N, revealing key features that users will end up seeing on mobile devices. As expected, the next Nexus will be first to taste the upcoming OS changes and enhancements.
As stated in Android Developers Blog, Preview 2 brings the necessary bug fixes and API adjustments that developers should take note in re-coding their applications for Android N optimization. Emoji, for instance, in the next Android and Nexus will have Unicode 9 support. That means upcoming emoji will be more human-like.
And as indicated in the first preview, the Android N user interface will be remotely different from Android Marshmallow that encourages easier and faster OS and mobile device navigation. Beta 2 hints that the final version will include chockful of personalization option. Users can now add application shortcuts to the Home Launcher.
The same goes for the Notification Panel, which added a Calculator link for Preview 2. The Home screen folder also got bits of redesign treatment, which still adheres to the Material Design philosophy that Google had introduced with Android Lollipop.
But likely to count as the biggest Android N leap in Preview 2 is the inclusion of Vulkan 3D rendering API, which essentially will give developers greater control of GPU behavior in a smartphone or tablet. Google is expecting that with Vulkan in action, Android N will be fully optimized for performance boost.
As always the case, all these new Android N feature upgrades will first rock with the next Nexus unboxing. Speculations are rife that Google's upcoming hero phones will be patterned after the flagships coming from HTC and Huawei.
An HTC Nexus will likely be based on the newly unveiled HTC 10 that boasts of stunning build and design, top-notch camera features and an OS render that early reviewers said is the closest thing to Pure Android.
If Huawei is Google's choice, then the next Nexus could practically be second installment of the premium Nexus 6P. Or it could be the reimagined Huawei P9 that prides itself as the first smartphone with a dual-camera system that is Leica-certified.
Google has scheduled its 2016 I/O to start May 18 and the event is expected to reveal the Android N final cut and its official sweet name, which likely will be followed by the Nexus 2016 release date.
