Android "Nougat 7.0" is the latest major release of the Android operating system. Though Google has already announced the next version also Android "O" (working title). It was released as alpha release on March 21, 2017.

Android is incessantly developed by Google and Open Handset Alliance^TM (consortium of 84 firms to develop open standards for mobile devices). There has been a large number of updates from its initial release. The first commercial version of the android application was released in September 2008. Versions 1.0 and 1.1 were not released under specific code names but from the release of android "cupcake 1.5" in April 2009, android OS versions have confectionary keynote code names. The names given to the versions are in alphabetical order. The most recent versions are android 6.0.1 "Marshmallow" released in December 2015, latest being Nougat-7.0 released on June 2016 and upcoming is Android "O" 8.0. Here are all Android OS versions before Nougat

Distinguished features of Android Nougat 7.0 are:

• Split-screen multi-window mode in which screen is divided into halves where two applications can be snapped.
• There is also a small change in the notification shade which has now small row of icons for settings, that replaces notification cards with a "sheet" design, and allowing inline replies to notifications implemented via existing APIs used with Android Wear. Now bundling of multiple notifications from a single application can be done.
• Updates are seamless as the version is following chrome operating system. Faster updates can be made while your phone is doing all other tasks by updating the operating system in the background with reboot as the systems has two partitions, one for utilize and other for updates.
• The feature of Marshmallow of power saving mechanism "Doze" is further comprehensive in Nougat. In this, a state is activated in two cases-when device is running on battery and when screen has been off for some time but it is not stationary. The background mobile data usage is restricted using the novel "Data Saver" mode.
• From safety and security point of view if your phone is lost, data is still secured.
• Nougat 7.0 can adopt the different languages depending on your location. Few of the human emoji are also incorporated in Nougat with support for various skin tones.

Android Nougat has overcome the shortcomings in Android marshmallow and also it contains some of the interesting and new useful features

By - Ms. Latika Kakkar, CSE Department, Chitkara University H.P.