Tech

The 12 biggest changes coming to Android

Antonio Villas-Boas

2016-05-18T21:33:16Z

Unlike Apple, Google doesn't keep its latest innovations a secret before they're officially released.

At the Google I/O event on Wednesday, Google announced a few more features in Android N, the latest yet-to-be-released mobile operating system, on top of the features we already knew about.

Most of the new features are smaller, but they make a big impact on how you'll use your Android phones.

Here are all the Android N features you need to know about:

It's more streamlined and efficient so that games and general performance are better.

Apps will install extremely quickly and they'll take up less storage than they do now.

android n app install and storage space — You don't need to know what a "JIT Compiler" is, but it makes app installs faster and apps can also take up less space on your phone. Google

Apps you haven't used in a while will close automatically in the Recents menu, which makes it less cluttered.

android n apps close u havent used in a while

There's a "Clear All" button at the top of the Recents menu to close all your running apps in one go if you want to start fresh.

Quick Switch lets double tap the square Recents button to switch back to the previous app you were using and then back again to the app you were using quickly.

Use two apps at the same time with Multi-Window.

android n multitasking — Here, Google Keep and YouTube are both on one screen. Google

Reply to messages straight from the notifications shade.

Control which apps show you notifications by long-tapping on the notification itself. It's faster than going through the Settings.

Security updates will be downloaded automatically, but you'll have to turn your phone off and back on for them to install.

You'll never see this again!

You'll be able to run Google's new virtual reality platform with a VR headset if your phone is powerful enough. This is the biggest new feature Google announced.

Read about Google new VR platform here.

An improved "Doze" mode that will put your phone in a semi-sleep mode when the screen is off for outstanding battery life.

On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.

Google Android Smartphones