SoC showdown: Snapdragon 810 vs Exynos 7420 vs

MediaTek Helio X10 vs Kirin 935

by:Gary
1.9K Sims (http://www.androidauthority.com/author/garysims/)November 6, 2015
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Which is the best Android smartphone SoC? We test the Snapdragon 810, the Exynos 7420, the MediaTek Helio X10, the Kirin 935, and the Snapdragon 801. But before
looking at these chips, lets start with a high level look of mobile processor technology.

What is a SoC?
Traditionally, the brains of a computer were found in the CPU (Central Processing Unit),
and other necessary peripherals were found in auxiliary chips which were dotted around the
CPU. These auxiliary chips included things like the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), the
The SoC defines what a smartphone can and can't do.
memory controllers, and any specialized video or audio chips (like DSPs). In fact, way back
when the Intel 386 and 486 CPUs were the talk of the town, even the FPU (Floating Point
Unit) wasconsidered an optional extra. Since then, more and more stuff has been included
on the same silicon as the CPU, first the FPU, then various memory controllers, and now the GPU and DSPs as well.
A single chip, which includeslots of different functions, isknown as aSoC (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/soc) or a System-on-a-Chip. The chips which power our
smartphones are no longer just CPUs, but a CPU plus a GPU plus a memory controller plus a DSP plus a radio for GSM, 3G and 4G LTE comms.But it doesnt stop there,
on top of all that lot, you will find discrete bits of silicon for the GPS, USB, NFC, Bluetooth and for the camera.

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In many ways, the SoC defines what a smartphone can and cant do, plus it determines the devices performance and battery efficiency.In other words, it is important to
know what SoC is in your smartphone.
At the moment there are four major smartphone SoC makers: Qualcomm (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/qualcomm), with its Snapdragon
(http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/snapdragon/) range; Samsung (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/samsung/) with its Exynos
(http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/exynos/) chips; MediaTek (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/mediatek/) with its MT and Helio processors; and Huaweis
(http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/huawei/) Kirin chips made by its subsidiaryHiSilicon.

Each of these manufacturers produces a variety of chips for the low-, mid- and high-end smartphone markets. And it is at the high-end that the competition is the
toughest, at least in terms of perceptions. In terms of actual units shipped, the low- and mid-range SoCs are just as important, however, the glory is in the flagship
devices.
So that leads us to our question, what is the best SoC? To try and answer this question we will take a look at five key processors: theSnapdragon 810, the Exynos 7420,
the MediaTek Helio X10, the HiSilicon Kirin 935, and the Snapdragon 801. I have included the last one for comparison. Released in 2013 and 2014 respectively, the
Snapdragon 800 and 801 SoCs are almost legendary in terms of their performance and reliability.

Cores

Snapdragon 810

Exynos 7420

MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795)

HiSilicon Kirin 935

Snapdragon 801

Snapdragon 810

CPU
4x Cortex-A57 + 4x Cortex-A53
4x Cortex-A57 +
4x Cortex-A53

Exynos 7420

8x Cortex-A53
8x Cortex-A53

MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795)

HiSilicon Kirin 935
Snapdragon 801

Snapdragon 810

Exynos 7420

MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795)

HiSilicon Kirin 935

4x Krait 400
CPU clock
A57 - 2.0GHz
A53 - 1.5GHz
A57 - 2.1GHz
A53 - 1.5GHz
Up to 2.2GHz
4x A53 - 2.2GHz
4x A53 - 1.5GHz
Up to 2.45 GHz
Arch
ARMv8-A (32 / 64-bit)

Snapdragon 801

ARMv8-A (32 / 64-bit)

ARMv8-A (32 / 64-bit)

Snapdragon 810

ARMv8-A (32 / 64-bit)

ARMv7-A (32-bit)

Exynos 7420

MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795)

GPU
Adreno 430 @ 630MHz
ARM Mali-T760 MP8 @ 772 Mhz

HiSilicon Kirin 935

Snapdragon 801

PowerVR G6200 @ 700Mhz

Mali-T628 MP4
Adreno 330 @ 578 GHz

Snapdragon 810

Exynos 7420

MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795)

HiSilicon Kirin 935

Snapdragon 801


Snapdragon 810

Memory
LPDDR4 1600MHz 64-bit
1552MHz LPDDR4

Exynos 7420

LPDDR3 933MHz
LPDDR3 1600 MHz

MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795)

HiSilicon Kirin 935

LPDDR3 933MHz 32-bit

Process
20nm

Snapdragon 801

Snapdragon 810
Exynos 7420
MediaTek Helio X10 (MT6795)

14nm FinFET
28nm
28 nm
28nm

Core count

Look across the table above and you will see

that octa-core processors are the order of the
day. With the exception of the Snapdragon 801,
Octa-core is the norm today, but things may change next year.
Snapdragon 801
which is here for comparison, we can see that
every major SoC uses 8 CPU cores. To support8 CPU cores, these chips use a
technology from ARM (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/ARM) called
big.LITTLE. The idea behind big.LITTLE is thatnot all the cores are equal. You generally find a cluster of Cortex-A57 cores and a cluster of Cortex-A53 cores. The A57 is a
high performance core, while the A53 has greater energy efficiency.

HiSilicon Kirin 935

When tasks are run on the LITTLE cores they use less power, they drain the battery less, however they may run a little slower. When tasks are run on the big cores, they
finish sooner but they use more battery to do so.

The only exceptions to this among the octa-core processes in our lineup are the Kirin 935 and the MediaTek Helio X10, both of which use one cluster of Cortex-A53
cores clocked at a higher clock speed than anothercluster of Cortex-A53 cores clocked at a lower speed.

SEE ALSO: WHY THE QUAD-CORE SNAPDRAGON 820 WONT BRING AN

END TO THE CORE WARS

(http://www.androidauthority.com/are-the-soc-core 27 wars-over-645199/)

Although this is theway things are today, the core count is going to change. The next generation CPU from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 820, will go back to using four
cores (http://www.androidauthority.com/are-the-soc-core-wars-over-645199/), with a core design cooked up by Qualcomms engineers rather than using the core
designs from ARM. At the other end, MediaTek will be releasing a SoC with 10 CPU cores, the Helio X20 (http://www.androidauthority.com/mediatek-helio-x20-official607685/).

GPUs

Samsungs latest flagships all sport the formidable Mali-T760 GPU

There are three major designers of mobile GPUs: ARM, Qualcomm and Imagination. ARMs range of GPUs are known as Mali and includes theMali-T760, as found in the
Exynos 7420, and the Mali T628, as found in theKirin 935. Qualcomms GPUs are branded under the Adreno namewith the Snapdragon 810 using an Adreno 430 and
the Snapdragon 801 using a Adreno 330. The third player in the GPU space is Imagination with its PowerVR range. Imagination has had the most success on mobile with
Apple, as every iPhone since the 3GS has used a PowerVR GPU. However, Imagination has also had some success on Android, and the MediaTek Helio X10 uses the
PowerVR G6200.
It is difficult to make a comparison between these GPUs just from the specifications. They all supportOpenGL ES 3.1, they all support RenderScript, and they all boast
highgigaFLOP numbers. The real test comes when running actual 3D games.

Fabrication technology

Processors are fabricated out of silicon wafers such as this HiSilicon one
The fabrication of silicon chips isnt easy. In fact it is a highly complex process that involves a lot of expensive machinery. To make a chip from silicon wafer to chips
ready to sell, it takes several weeks. One of the parameters of fabrication system is known as the process node and it defines how small the transistors are and how
small the gaps are between transistors. The Helio X10, the Kirin 935 and the Snapdragon 801 are all built using a 28nm (nanometer) process. The Snapdragon 810 uses
a 20nm process, while the Exynos 7420 uses a 14nm process, known as 14nm FinFET.

The original, from 1971, the 4-bit Intel C4004 CPU

As you can imagine, the smaller you make a chip the harder it gets. The originalIntel 4004 CPU, which was launched in 1971, was manufactured usinga10 m (10,000
nanometers) process. By 1989, that had dropped to 800nm, the process used for the Intel 486 and the lower speed Pentium CPUs. By 2001, the process node was down
to 130nm and was used bycompanies like Intel, Texas Instruments, IBM, and TSMC for a variety of processors including the Pentium III, the Athlon XP and back
whenMotorola made chips, thePowerPC 7447.

By the time the smartphone revolution was underway, chips like theSamsung Exynos 3 Single, used in the originalGoogle Nexus S, were made using 45nm technology.
Today, that number is down to between 28nm and 14nm (FinFET). The key thing about process nodes is that, although it gets harder to reach these smaller and smaller
targets, the benefit is that the chips need less power and produce less heat, both of which are very important for mobile devices.
However there is one caveat, the process node is just one factor in many which defines the performance and power usage of a SoC. Although it might seem that a chip
made using a 28nm process node will be half as efficient as a chip made using a 14nm FinFET process, it isnt, things are just more complicated than that!

Snapdragon 810
The Snapdragon 810 is Qualcomms flagship 64-bit processor. It has eight cores in total, four Cortex-A53 cores and four Cortex-A57 cores. The SoC uses ARMs big.LITTLE
technology, which means that the more power efficient Cortex-A53 cores are used for easier tasks and the Cortex-A57 cores are activated when some heavy lifting is
required. Bundled with the CPU is theAdreno 430 GPU, theHexagon V56 DSP, and an integrated X10 LTE modem.
The history of the Snapdragon 810 has been rocky at best. Samsung didnt pick it for the Galaxy S6 range, nor for the Note 5, instead opting for its home-grown Exynos
7420. The chip has also been dogged with stories of overheating and CPU throttling. Qualcomm tried to fix the chips perceived image by releasing a new stepping
known as V2.1, however, with the 4K video overheating issues of phones like the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, the Snapdragon 810 is stillseen negatively by some
consumers.
Having said that, my testing of the Snapdragon 810 has shown it to be a fast and reliable SoC for the most part, and it has been picked-up by several top smartphone
makers including Huawei for the Nexus 6P, OnePlus for the OnePlus 2, HTC for the One M9 and LG for the LG G Flex 2.

Exynos 7420
This is oneof the most popular smartphone processors at the moment, mainly because it is the processor used by Samsung for its current range of high-end devices
including the Samsung Galaxy S6, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge +, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Like the Snapdragon 810 it usesfour Cortex-A53 cores and four
Cortex-A57 cores. But rather than the Adreno 430, we find aARM Mali-T760 MP8.
The Mali-T760 has 8 shader cores while boasting a 400% increase in energy efficiency over the ARM Mali-T604.One of the tricks in the Mali-T760s architecture is the use
of bandwidth reduction techniques, which minimizes the amount of data shifted around and hence reduces the amount of power used by the GPU. Such techniques
include ARM Frame Buffer Compression (AFBC), which compresses the data as it is passed from one part of the SoC to another; and Smart Composition, which only
renders the parts of the frame which have changed.

SEE ALSO: UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: HOW THE SAMSUNG GALAXY

S6 USES ITS OCTA-CORE PROCESSOR

(http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s6-octa 22 core-processor-usage-617585/)

Thanks to the smaller 14nm FinFET manufacturing process, Samsung has been able to up its clock speeds by 200MHz on the CPU side and by 72MHz on the GPU side,
when compared to the Exynos 5433.It is alsoSamsungs first SoC with LPDDR4 memory support, which runs in a 32-bit dual-channel configuration with a clock speed of
1552MHz. Peak bandwidth reaches 25.6 GB/s.

MediaTek Helio X10

Earlier this year MediaTek launched its new Helio brand of SoCs. Unlike the bland sounding MTxxxx range of SoCs, the Helio branding brings MediaTek into line with
Samsung and Qualcomm with their Exynos and Snapdragon brands. The first MediaTek Helio SoC is the Helio X10, an octa-core processorwithfour 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53
cores and four2.2 GHz Cortex-A53 cores, backed by a PowerVR 6200 GPU. If that setup sounds familiar it is because that was also the specs of the MediaTekMT6795
and, as far as I can tell, the Helios X10 is in fact just a rebrand of theMT6795.
The multimedia features of the X10 are quite interesting and includevideo recording at 480 frames per second with 1/16th speed slow-motion playback, support
for120Hz smartphone displays, andH.265 Ultra HD 4K2K video encoding at 30 fps.

Kirin 935
Smartphones using the Kirin range of SoCs started to appear during mid-2014, almost exclusively from Huawei. HiSilicon is a fully owned subsidiary of Huawei and its
first Kirin processors were quad-core Cortex-A9 based, as found in phones like the Huawei Ascend P7 (http://www.androidauthority.com/huawei-ascend-p7-review391374/). Since then, HiSilicon has produced increasingly more powerful processors including 32-bit octa-core processors withCortex-A15 andCortex-A7 cores, and 64bit processors usingCortex-A53 cores. The company has also just announced its new SoC: the Kirin 950 (http://www.androidauthority.com/huawei-hisilicon-kirin-950official-653811/). The Kirin 950 usesfour Cortex-A72 (http://www.androidauthority.com/arm-cortex-a-72-interview-604568/) cores (the successor to the Cortex-A57) and
four Cortex A53 CPU cores, combined with a Mali-T880 GPU.
The Kirin 935 uses four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.2 GHz, and another four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at1.5 GHz. The GPU is the ARM Mali-T628 MP4.

Snapdragon 801
The Snapdragon 801 is quite different to the other SoCs listed here. First, it is a 32-bit processor using the ARMv7 instruction set architecture (ISA), rather than the 64-bit
ARM v8 ISA. Second, it is a quad-core processor rather than an octa-core processor. Third, it uses Qualcomms own ARM compatible core design (Krait) and not a core
design from ARM.
The reason I have included it is as a baseline reference. The Snapdragon 800 and the Snapdragon 801 SoCs were very popular and marked the heyday of Qualcomms
reign at the top. You can find the Snapdragon 801 in devices like the Sony Xperia Z3, the LG G3, the Samsung Galaxy S5, the HTC One M8 and the OnePlus One.

The Phones
For these tests, I got hold of different phones using these SoCs. The phones are:

Snapdragon 810 Sony Xperia Z5 Compact (http://www.androidauthority.com/sony-xperia-z5-compact-review-649223/)

Exynos 7420 Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (http://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-note-5-review-638096/)
MediaTek Helio X10 Redmi Note 2 (http://www.androidauthority.com/xiaomi-redmi-note-2-review-640274/)
Kirin 935 Huawei Mate S (http://www.androidauthority.com/huawei-mate-s-review-643433/)
Snapdragon 801 ZUK Z1 (http://www.androidauthority.com/zuk-z1-review-646123/)
Before looking at the test results, there is one caveat: there are likely other handsets available that could utilize these SoCs better than the handsets I have used. In
other words, maybe the RedMi Note 2 isnt the best performing Helio X10 handset, or maybe there are better Snapdragon 801 devices than the ZUK Z1, etc. However
the variations between modelsshouldnt be so large as to alter the overall results.
It is also worth noting that the screen resolution plays a big factor for benchmarks that include GPU tests. Pushing around those pixels on a phone with a Full HD display
is less taxing for the CPU and GPU than on a phone with a 2K display.

Performance tests
Performance testing is a complex science in that it is hard to replicate the exact same conditions for each test run. Even variations in temperature can alter test
results.One popular way to test the performance of a phone is to use benchmarks like AnTuTu and Geekbench. Another is to simulate real world scenarios like
launching a gamewhilemonitoring the performance. As a third way to test the performance I have written a couple of apps. The first one tests the SoCs processing
power by calculating a large number of SHA1 hashes, performing a large bubblesort, shuffling a large table and then calculating the first 10 million primes. The second
app uses a 2D physics engine to simulate water being poured into a container and measuring the number of droplets that can be processed in 90 seconds. At 60 frames
per second the maximum score is 5400.

AnTuTu

AnTuTu is one of the standard benchmarks for Android. It tests both CPU performance and GPU performance and then presents a final score. AnTuTu is good for
getting a general feel for how well a SoC can perform, however the test loads used by the benchmark are completely artificial and dont reflect real life scenarios at all.
However,as long as we take that into consideration then the numbers can be useful.
I performed two tests with AnTuTu. First, I just run the test on the device from a fresh boot, then I run the 3D demo game Epic Citadel for 30 minutes (in the hope of
heating up the phones a bit) and then I re-ran the benchmark. The results are below:

AnTuTu Higher is better.

As you can see the Exynos 7420 comes out on top followed by the Snapdragon 810. Third is the Kirin 935, and fourth is the Snapdragon 801 beating the Helio X10. After
running Epic Citadel for 30 minutes the performance dropped for all of the devices except for the Mate S and its Kirin 935. However the order remains the same.

Geekbench

I performed two tests with Geekbench. First I just ran the test on the device from a fresh boot, then I ran the 3D demo game Epic Citadel for 30 minutes for theAnTuTu
test (see above). Straight after re-running AnTuTu, I then re-ranGeekbench. Here are the results, one graph for the single-core tests and one for the multi-core:

Geekbench single-core Higher is better.

The single core tests show the speed of an individual core, regardless of how many cores there are on the SoC. The Exynos 7420 comes in first with 1504, followed
closely by the Snapdragon 810. The other three are fairly evenly matched which shows the difference in core level performance between the Cortex-A57 and the CortexA53. It also shows us that the Krait core in the Snapdragon 801 is faster than the Cortex-A53 cores of the Kirin and Helio.

Geekbench multi-core Higher is better.

The multi-core tests run the benchmark across all the available cores. As such the Snapdragon 801 is bound to come in last as it only has four cores. At the top we find
the Exynos 7420 again, this time followed by the Helio X10, quite a jump from its last place in the single-core tests! After running Epic Citadel for half an hour the
Snapdragon 801 and the Kirin 935 actually perform slightly better, however the overall positions remain unchanged.

CPU Prime Benchmark

As with the previous two benchmarks, I ran CPU Prime Benchmark twice. The first run was performed when the device was cool and had no other apps running. Then I
set each phone to record Full HD video (not 4K) for 10 minutes. After than I re-ran the benchmark. The results are surprising:

CPU Prime Benchmark Higher is better.

In first place again we find the Exynos 7420, followed by the Snapdragon 810. Next the Helio X10, the Kirin 935 and the Snapdragon 801 respectively. After recording Full
HD video for 10 minutes, the Exynos manages to achieve the same score, as does the Snapdragon 801. Interestingly the Kirin 935 manages a better score, which pushes
it above the X10, while the Snapdragon 810 takes quite a hit dropping from 20771 to 18935.

Real world

For the real world tests I picked two scenarios. The first is how long does it take to startup the Need For Speed No Limits game, and secondly how well do the phones
handle the Kraken Javascript benchmark. Kraken was created by Mozilla and measures the speed of several different test cases extracted from real-world applications
and libraries. In each case, I used the same version of Chrome downloaded from the Play Store. But first, the Need for Speed startup times:

Need For Speed No Limits Lower is better.

The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact makes quite a poor showing in this test, coming in last. First place is tied between the Exynos 7420 and the Kirin 935, while the X10 and the
Snapdragon 801 are only one second apart. It is worth mentioning here that there are likely other factors which influence the outcome of these tests including the
speed of the flash memory, so the poor performance by the Z5 Compact might not be due to the Snapdragon 810.
And now for Kraken:

Kraken- Lower is better.

Things return to normal with the Kraken test: First the Exynos 7420, then the Snapdragon 810, and in third the Snapdragon 801. The two Cortex-A53 based devices
perform quite poorly here with scores over 9500.

Hashes, bubble sorts, tables and primes

The first of my custom benchmarks tests the CPU without using the GPU. It is a four stage test thatfirst calculates 100 SHA1 hashes on 4K of data, then it performs a
large bubble sort on an array of 9000 items. Thirdly, it shuffles a large table one million times, and lastly it calculates the first 10 million primes. The total time needed to
do all those things is displayed at the end of the test run. The results are below:

Hashes and sorts Lower is better.

This is the one test that the Exynos 7420 didnt win. If it didnt win the second of my benchmarks as well then I would start to suspect foul play, however it does win the
next test (see below) and its second place here is acceptable.However, a great performance by the Snapdragon 810, as well as a strong result for the Snapdragon 801.

Water simulation

The second of my two custom benchmarks uses a 2D physics engine to simulate water being poured into a container. The idea here is that while the GPU will be used
slightly for the 2D graphics, most of the work will be carried out by the CPU. The complexity of so many droplets of water will exercise the CPU. One drop of water is
added every frame and the game is designed to run at 60 frames per second. The benchmark measures how many droplets are actually processed and how many are
missed. The maximum score is5400, a number which the Exynos 7420 almost hits, but not quite. The full results follow:

2D Physics Higher is better.

The Exynos 7420 scores 5359, just slightly shy of the maximum score. Surprisingly, the 32-bit, quad-core Snapdragon 801 comes in second followed by the Helio X10
and the Snapdragon 810. Last was the Kirin 935.

Wrap-up
Before we look at the 64-bit processors, it is worth applauding Qualcomm for
the Snapdragon 801. The 801 consistently scored well in the benchmarks and
was on average equivalent to the Kirin 935 or to the Helio X10. Like I said
during my ZUK Z1 review (http://www.androidauthority.com/zuk-z1-review646123/), I would rather have a quad-core 32-bit Snapdragon 801 than a
slower quad-core Cortex-A53 based SoC, like the Snapdragon 410. The
Snapdragon 801 also gives us a good baseline from which to judge the results
from the other processors.

In a nutshell, the Exynos 7420 is the best Android SoC at this time,
the Snapdragon 810 comes in a close second, while the Helio X10
and Kirin 935 are good for high mid-end phones. Finally, the
Snapdragon 801 still has plenty of life in it.

Overall, the Exynos 7420 is the clear winner. It performs well across all of the tests and it doesnt seem to be affected much by overheating or throttling. Close behind it
is the Snapdragon 810. Both the Exynos 7420 and the Snapdragon 810 use the same Cortex-A57/A53 cores in a big.LITTLE configuration, however they use different
GPUs. Although the performance of the Snapdragon 810 is close to that of the Exynos, the 810 is affected more by heat. The drop in performance for the 810 was 8%
during the CPU Prime Benchmark test after recording Full HD video for 10 minutes.
As for the other two processors, there seems to be little to choose between them. Sometimes the X10 was faster than the Kirin 935 (e.g. for the CPU Prime Benchmark
and the 2D water simulation), while for other benchmarks like AnTuTu and the Geekbench single-core tests, the Kirin 935 was the faster of the pair.

NOW READ AND WATCH: HISTORY OF THE NEXUS

FAMILY

(http://www.androidauthority.com/history-nexus-smartphone-line 94 536352/)

In a nutshell, the Exynos 7420 is the best Android SoC at this time, the Snapdragon 810 comes in a close second while the Helio X10 and Kirin 935 are good for high midend phones. Finally, the Snapdragon 801 still has plenty of life in it.

Now, watch the reviews!

Sony Xperia Z5 Compact

ZUK Z1 review
Huawei Mate S review
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
revie...
(http://www.androidauthority.com/zuk(http://www.androidauthority.com/huaweiReview
review
(http://www.androidauthority.com/sonyz1-review-646123/)
mate-s-review-643433/)
(http://www.androidauthority.com/video/xiaomi(http://www.androidauthority.com/samsungxperia-z5-compact-reviewredmi-note-2-review/)
galaxy-note-5-review649223/)
638096/)

Posted In
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Tags
Huawei (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/huawei/), MediaTek Helio X10 (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/mediatek-helio-x10/), Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
(http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/qualcomm-snapdragon-801/), Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/qualcomm-snapdragon-810/),
Samsung (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/samsung/), Samsung Exynos 7420 (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/samsung-exynos-7420/)
Huawei (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/huawei/), MediaTek Helio X10 (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/mediatek-helio-x10/), Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
(http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/qualcomm-snapdragon-801/), Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/qualcomm-snapdragon-810/),
Samsung (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/samsung/), Samsung Exynos 7420 (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/samsung-exynos-7420/)

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Manor
a year ago

Why didn't you test the SD808 instead of the 801?

11

Reply

eilegz > Manor

a year ago

i would add 805 there.

6

Reply

MrHK777 > eilegz

a year ago

True

Reply

Duck Knight > Manor

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a year ago

Android 7.0 Nougat review: an Android version for Android

fans (Update: whats new in Android 7.1?)
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Android Nougat (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/android-7-0-nougat) is here and its a thing of beauty. It may not have the same dramatic visual overhaul we were
first treated to in Android Lollipop two versions ago, but Nougat provides a lot of major improvements and refinements over Marshmallow, along with quite a few nice new
usability changes. With that in mind, join us as we run through all the major Android 7.0 features both user-facing and behind-the-scenes in our full Android 7.0 Nougat
review. Well also touch on whats new in Android 7.1 Nougat

SEE ALSO: ANDROID 7.0 NOUGAT UPDATE: WHEN WILL YOU GET
IT?

(http://www.androidauthority.com/android-7-0-update 269 679175/)

Whats new in Android 7.1 Nougat?

Check out the video below for a quick rundown of the new Android 7.1 Nougat features. For clarification purposes, a distinction needs to be made between the Android 7.1
version found on the new Google Pixel phones and the Android 7.1 update coming to Nexus devices.
For starters, the Nexuses dont inherit the Pixel Launcher, so no Google Assistant, parallax wallpaper effect or the new wallpaper picker. Furthermore, some hardwarerelated features like the Pixels fingerprint scanner gesture controls and Night Light (aka Night Mode) alsowont be coming to Nexus devices
(http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus-night-light-fingerprint-reader-gestures-723651/).
On the positive side, you will get launcher shortcuts in Android 7.1 (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-7-1-app-shortcuts-723503/), where long-pressing an app icon
brings up a popup menu ofcommon in-app actions. Theres also a new storage manager in Android 7.1 (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-7-1-nougat-smartstorage-manager-723501/) called Smart Storage, a restart option on the power down menu (at last!), a couple of gesture control options called Moves, an extra quick
settings toggle at the top of the notifications shade, preliminaryGIF support inthe Google Keyboard and a two-tab view in Settings, which provides access to 24/7 phone or
live chat support from Google.

A note on the Android 7.0 review

Anyone that sawthe Android N developer previews

(http://www.androidauthority.com/android-n-developer-preview-features712324/) will no doubt see a lot of familiar Android Nougat features here. The
builds are so similar thatif you were running Android N dev preview 5, the official
OTA for the Android 7.0 update (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-7-0update-679175/) was a tiny 49.5 MB, compared to 1.1 GB if you updated from
Marshmallow.

Android 7.0 will be very familiar to anyone that has

seen the latest Android N developer preview.

While some of us may have seen large parts of Nougat already, well be
approaching this Android 7.0 review from the perspective of a new user someone who hasnt seen it all before. We want to provide a sweeping overview of Android 7.0
features, but well also draw comparisons to Marshmallow where relevant and provide context with discussion of features that appeared in the pre-release versions of

Android N but that didnt quite make it to the final version.

Nougat in a nutshell

If I had to sum Android Nougat up in a nutshell, Id say that its Android putting its roots down. The general feel of Android has become increasingly stable since Lollipop, with
less feature flip flopping, fewer performance issues and a greater focus on polish. Nougat is all about extending functionality, improving pre-existing features and further
expanding whats possible in stock Android.
As you know, Marshmallow largely maintained the overall look of Lollipop but baked in some big new features like Doze Mode, the fingerprint API and granular permissions.
One year on and Nougat follows suit, maintaining the home screen and app drawer design of Marshmallow, but digging even deeper, laying the fundamental groundwork
for what is yet to come.

There's way more exciting background stuff going on

in Nougat than you see on the surface.

There are some new visual features to be sure, with a redesigned Settings menu
and notifications area. But theres also a lot moreenhanced functionality and
exciting background stuff going on in Nougat than you see on the surface.

HARDER

This section will be devoted almost entirely to Nougats multi-tasking and split
screen functionality. These are arguably the biggest ticket items in Nougat and
the ones that will rightfully garner the most attention and likely cause the most confusion. Thats because as good as Googles implementation of multi-window mode and
other multi-tasking features in Nougat are, they are a little complicated and bound to leave more than a few people behind.
Download the Nexus Launcher (http://www.androidauthority.com/download-nexus-launcher-apk-707338/)
Download the 2016 Nexus wallpapers (http://www.androidauthority.com/download-beautiful-nexus-2016-wallpapers-707160/)

Split-screen mode: how it works

Nougat finally delivers split-screen mode (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-n-developer-preview-live-now-678879/) to stock Android, a feature that has been
around in manufacturer skins and custom ROMs since forever. Android Nougats built-in version is in some ways better than what weve seen before, but it can also be a
little over the top. Now, take a deep breath as I walk you through how it all works.
Split-screen works in both portrait and landscape mode, with the two windows only being resizable in portrait mode. App developers can set their own minimum app
height, but in landscape mode youre stuck with a 50/50 width split, which actually makes sense.

Split-screen works in both portrait and landscape mode, with the two 'windows' only being resizable in portrait
mode.

Split-screen mode can be activated by long-pressing the app overview/recent apps button while in an app proper. It can also be activated by long-pressing an app preview
card in the app picker and dragging it to the top of the screen. You can even enable a gesture action so it launches when you swipe up on the overview button. So far, so
many options.
That first app will then appear in the top window (or on the left if youre in landscape mode) and youll be able to choose your second app from the app picker which displays
automatically. Or, when the app picker is displayed in the secondary window, you can tap Home to launch an app from your home screen or open the app drawer.
Think of it like this: the app up top (or on the left in landscape mode) is the primary app, the other app is secondary and it is the one that can be changed easily. With this in
mind, youll always want to start multi-window mode with the app youre less likely to want to change.

Quick switching apps is the best

The quick app switching action is possibly my
favorite Nougat feature of all.

Quick switching (http://www.androidauthority.com/split-screen-mode-appswitching-android-n-developer-preview-2-686790/) is basically just shuffling

between the two most recently used apps. It works system-wide, so you can
quick switch whenever youre in a full-screen app and you can also use it in the
secondary window of split-screen mode.
Simply double tap the app overview button and youll switch between your two
most recent apps in your secondary window. (The same gesture flips between
full-screen apps when not in split-screen mode.)

The presence of the quick switching action possibly my favorite Nougat feature of all thus means you can triple task in multi-window mode. For example, you can be
watching a YouTube video in the top window and quick switch between two social feeds in the bottom. Or you can be composing an email in the top pane while
simultaneously switching between a note app and a web page in the bottom window. Its actually pretty awesome.

Working with split-screen mode

Speaking of writing, multi-window mode is pretty smart when it comes to the keyboard. If you have two evenly-spaced windows up and need to type into one (say, a URL or
search term), the windows will automatically resize to accommodate the keyboard and then automatically switch back when the keyboard is off screen again. You can also
cleanly drag and drop text between the two windows although this doesnt work with every app.
Exiting split-screen mode is quite intuitive also: just drag the black divider all the
way up to go full screen with the app on the bottom or drag all the way down for
the app on the top. Alternatively, you can long-press the app overview button
again and your primary app will go full screen.

Split-screen mode is a mix of intuitive and useful

ideas mixed with inconsistency and confusion.

Hitting the Home button while in split screen mode pushes your apps off screen
but youll always know youve got split-screen mode activated because your
status bar will retain the color of the primary app and the overview button will
change to a split-screen icon. Double tapping the overview button will return you
to your current split-screen setup while tapping it once will bring back your primary app and replace the secondary app with the app picker.

When split-screen mode gets weird

One final comment on multi-window mode might give you an idea of how good, but slightly odd, this Nougat feature is. When you have a Chrome
(http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/google-chrome) tab open in split screen mode, tapping the overflow button provides a new option called Move to other window
which will then open a second Chrome tab in the other split screen pane this is really great.
But, depending on the size of your two split-screen Chrome windows, opening up the tab view will either cascade your tabs vertically or horizontally and this is just
kindaweird. It makes sense, Iguess, but its definitely strange. Not being able to consistently drag and drop text with all apps, not having all apps support split-screen mode
and inconsistencies like this Chrome example (and other bugs Ive found) show it is still not quite polished.
Google clearly also has a few remaining issues with split-screen content resizing too. Now, the font size and width changes depending on how tall each window is. This is fine.
But, for example, opening Gmail (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/gmail/) first followed by Google Play (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/google-play/) leaves parts
of the Play Store search bar cut off (which you can see in the screenshot below).
Resizing the windows fixes this visual glitch but its a bug that should have never made it to the final release, especially after months and months of developer previews. (The
some-have-it-some-dont Night Mode is another example of how Google seems to have slightly run out of time with Nougat.)

The million dollar question

If youve managed to follow me this far youve probably got a pretty good idea of just how useful split-screen mode can be if only you take the time to actually learn how to
use it (there are no pop-up tutorials or anything for the feature). The question is though: will it actually catch on?

Unfortunately, the vast majority simply won't ever take the time to figure split-screen mode out properly.

Unfortunately for Google, the vast majority of Android users simply wont ever take the time to figure it all out. Furthermore, the usefulness of split-screen mode on a 5.5inch smartphone display is debatable and dwindling tablet usage means Nougats split-screen mode may never get as much use as it rightfully deserves. If you are rocking a
tablet with Nougat though, youre in for a treat.

BETTER
Not everything in Nougat is so convoluted though. Some features are plain, simple and intuitive. From new feature additions to tweaks on Marshmallow staples, Nougat
does a lot of things better than its predecessor.

Notifications: redesigned, bundled and Quick Reply-able

The notifications area in Nougat (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-n-revamped-notifications-678952/) has received a slight makeover, doing away with the Google
Now-esque cards from Marshmallow and going super flat and full-width. You get more information and less wasted space in them too, which is exactly what you want from a
notification. Likewise, bundled notifications and Quick Reply are so obvious and so useful its surprisingthey havent appeared in stock Android until now.

Bundled notifications and Quick Reply are so obvious and so useful it's surprising they haven't appeared until now.

There are basically three views to Nougat notifications: the super-compact lock screen view, the slightly-more-information notifications shade view, and the expanded view
with quick actions, which you access by swiping down on a notification or by tapping the top part of the notification itself. Quick actions are what Im calling Nougats sexy
new Quick Reply feature and other similar functions.
Quick Reply is simply the ability to reply to a message directly from its notification without having to open the app fully. Its a fantastic feature and one that will save you a lot
of time and endless app switching.
But quick actions go beyond just replying: you can also share, delete, archive and more directly from a notification. These actions make Nougats notifications area a much
more active and responsive place. But again, not all apps support this functionality yet either.

Notification prioritization

You can still swipe to dismiss notifications and tell Android how much notification information to display on the lock screen in the Notifications area of the Settings (Sounds
also has its own dedicated section in Nougat). But you can also long-press a notification to access its priority settings or swipe it a little to the side and tap the gear icon to
access your options.

You can choose to show notifications silently, block

all notifications or don't silence or block.

System UI Tuner is back

The choices are simple: show notifications silently; block all notifications; dont
silence or block. You can also enter the full app settings page where you have
even more control, including whitelisting the app to notify you even when Do Not
Disturb mode is on (but more on that later).
Multiple notifications from the same app will now get bundled together too,
saving more space and allowing you to dismiss them en masse or expand them
for individual attention.

For those of you that preferred the sliding scale for setting the importance of app notifications from the developer previews, you can easily enable it in System UI Tuner via
Power notification controls.

To add System UI Tuner to your Settings menu, just tap and hold the gear icon in the Quick Settings until it spins and your device vibrates. Youll now find it at the bottom of
the Settings menu. System UI Tuner also contains the toggle for the split-screen swipe-up gesture and toggles for which icons are visible in the status bar. You also find some
Do Not Disturb options there.

Customizable Quick Settings

Quick Settings in Nougat (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-quick-settings-improved-678961/) have also been updated. For starters, youll now always have a handy
list of five toggles at the top of your notifications shade. You can edit the order of this list to make sure only the most important shortcuts for you are present. The small
arrow on the right hand side will take you to the full Quick Settings page, which you can also access with the familiar two-finger swipe-down gesture from the top of the
screen.
You can now have multiple pages of tiles too. Some of them instantly toggle a
setting on or off, like the flashlight, Do Not Disturb mode and Location. Other
tiles, like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, can be tapped to access a mini menu right in the
Quick Settings.
The ability to turn Bluetooth and Wi-Fi off must now be done from the minimenu, even after the uproar about removing the tap-to-toggle functionality
(http://www.androidauthority.com/android-n-bluetooth-wifi-699457/) in the
developer previews. Fortunately though, you can toggle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on
or off via the ever-present Quick Settings toggles at the top of the notifications
shade. Long-pressing a tile will take you to its full Settings menu screen.

Nougat introduces a handy list of five toggles that

are always present at the top of your notifications
shade.

In the full Quick Settings list you can also tap the Edit button at the bottom right to rearrange the tiles or replace them with others. The optional extras list is pretty minimal:
just Cast, Data Saver, Invert colors and Hotspot. But developers are now able to create custom Quick Settings tiles for their apps, which will definitely make things a lot more
interesting in the coming months.

Doze Mode on the Go

Some of you might remember how happy I was when the battery shortcut appeared in the developer previews, which meant a long-press on the battery icon would instantly
take you to the full battery section in Settings. Thats here and Im happy. But thats not the most exciting battery feature in Nougat by a long shot.

Doze Mode now works not only when the device is stationary for a while but also when it is in motion.

Doze Mode (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-n-doze-678982/) has now been beefed up to work not only when the device is stationary for a while but also when it
is in motion. Your screen needs to be off, obviously, but youll now get to enjoy varying degrees of Doze whenever your phone isnt being used. Its a little too early to say just
how much better Doze is in Nougat, but the expanded functionality alone is appreciated.
The new two-layer system essentially means that a phone left in your pocket or bag while youre on the move will shut down network access and only periodically sync data
and run tasks. When a device is completely stationary for a while, it will slip into an even deeper hibernation, with no syncing, deferred jobs, no wakelocks and no GPS or WiFi scanning. In this mode, the maintenance windows are even further spread out.

Multi-language support, emoji and app links

Nougat now lets you set multiple locales as well as a primary and secondary language and switch easily between them which is obviously a huge deal for bi-lingual
Android users and frequent travelers. You also have full control over how much information is displayed on-screen with the addition of a simple DPI changer
(http://www.androidauthority.com/android-n-display-size-settings-679049/) in the Display settings.
Slide to the left to fit more stuff on screen and to the right to make everything bigger. This is another simple but excellent feature to have in stock Android, previously
requiring an edit to the devices build.prop file. Itll come in extra-handy on big-screen phones and tablets.

Theres 72 new emoji in Nougat (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-nougat-pc-emojis-plus-avocado-712207/) including various skin tones courtesy of Unicode 9 and
the wallpaper picker allows you to set an image as a home screen wallpaper, lock screen wallpaper or both. But perhaps best of all, you can now pin your favorite apps to the
top of the share picker. Just long-press them from the share picker menu.
You can still pin apps to your screen (great for when temporarily sharing your
phone with someone), define which apps open particular types of links (now
known as Opening links in the Apps section of the Settings menu), and manage
individual app permissions as you could with Marshmallow.

There's 72 new emoji in Nougat including various

skin tones and over 1500 emoji total.

FASTER
Android Nougat isnt just about making things better or more complex though. A
lot of work has been put into speeding Android up, a far greater project you can see Google-wide, from Chrome optimization and Accelerated Mobile Pages to Google Fiber
and the Wing drone delivery project.

New Settings menu

The Settings menu (http://www.androidauthority.com/678979-678979/) has been reconfigured in Android 7.0, with the two primary changes being the addition of a
hamburger menu on the left and the presence of high-order information under each Settings section title. The first of these is going to be very familiar: its the same
mechanism youre used to for accessing Google Now (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/google-now/) and the navigation drawer in many Google apps.
Although you can access it anytime, onceyoure in a sub-menu in Settings youll see the hamburger menu iconat the top left, which replaces the need for the back button.
Tap it (or swipe from the left edge) and you can jump to any other part of the Settings menu instantly without having to repeatedly tap the back arrow.

Even when you cant see the icon, like in the Advanced Wi-Fi Settings or on the main Settings page, you can still swipe it out. Its a handy quick escape feature even if its not
likely to be used by many people. Like a lot of new features in Android 7.0 you can use it if you want to, but if not, you wont even notice its there.

The essential information contained in each Settings section is now displayed on the main page.

The best part of the new Settings menu though is that the essential information contained in each Settings section is now displayed right there on the main page. Youll
instantly know which Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth device youre connected to, how many apps you have installed, how much storage youve used and how much longer your
battery is expected to last. Its a small addition perhaps, but another massive time saver.

Theres a new Suggestions area at the top of the Settings menu, where youll intermittently see suggestions from the Android system about a variety of things. From
reminding you to use voice search, register a fingerprint, add email accounts or change your wallpaper, you can act on them or minimize and ignore them at will. If you want
to get rid of the section entirely, just tap the overflow menu and remove all Suggestions.
When youve got Do Not Disturb mode (or several other settingslike Flight Mode) enabled, youll also see a persistent reminder at the top of your Settings menu where you
can also turn it off. The built-in file manager found in Storage > Explore has been slightly rejigged too, using a tiled layout now instead of the list view you got in
Marshmallow.
In Nougat, when you go to the App Info page for apps youve installed yourself youll now be able to see whether they came from Google Play or were side-loaded. This
probably wont matter to most folks, but it will help if youre wondering why an app hasnt been updated recently or if youre troubleshooting something.
Sounds and Notifications now have their own dedicated Settings areas and you can set your phone to Total Silence via the Do Not Disturb toggle in Quick Settings (but not
via the volume button).

Do Not Disturb

Do Not Disturb has been one of the most complicated implementations of any Android feature in recent memory. If nothing else, continued exposure to it means the basic
idea has probably slowly started to sink in by now though. If you can wrap your head around it, it can actually save you a lot of time and effort when you dont want to be
interrupted.

Do Not Disturb settings allow you to choose from

Total Silence, Alarms Only and Priority Only for a
short period of time or indefinitely, as well as set
exceptions.

The Do Not Disturb settings allow you to choose from Total Silence, Alarms Only
and Priority Only. You can set exceptions for Priority Only mode to allow certain
notifications in, enable Do Not Disturb mode for a set period of time or
indefinitely, create automatic rules for the weekend, evenings or work hours and
also block visual disturbances like LED notifications or on-screen pop-ups.

Data Saver

Data Saver (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-n-data-saver-feature679003/) is not exactly rocket-science, but it does put the tools in your hands
rather than in those of app developers. Data Saver basically lets you deny
internet access to background apps when youre connected to cellular data.Youll also get a large reminder at the top of the Settings menu when Data Saver is enabled to
remind you its active.

Data Saver denies internet access to background apps when you're connected to cellular data.

Enabling Data Saver which is accessible both as a Quick Settings toggle or via the Data area in Settings will limit background syncing to when youre connected to Wi-Fi. Of
course, you can whitelist any apps you want to have unrestricted network access (like email or WhatsApp) even when Data Saver is switched on.

Seamless updates

Speaking of updates, Android Nougat is also introducing the concept of seamless updates (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-n-seamless-updates-693500/), which
essentially means new Android updates will be downloaded in the background and stored on a different system partition. Its the same approach to upgrading that
Chromebooks take.
Once an update has been downloaded in the background, the next time you
restart your phone, the system will switch partitions and youll instantly have the
new Android updates without having to go through the usual download, reboot
and install process.
Unfortunately, the 2016 Nexuses will be the first devices to receive these
seamless updates though. That means you wont get them onany current device,
including the Nexus 6P (http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus-6p-review651536/) and Nexus 5X (http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus-5x-review651044/).

The 2016 Nexuses will be the first devices to receive

Nougat's seamless updates.

LATEST NEXUS VIDEOS

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs

LG G5 vs Nexus 6P
Nexus 5X vs Moto X Style
Nex...
(http://www.androidauthority.com/lg(Pu...
(http://www.androidauthority.com/samsungg5-vs-nexus-6p-688265/)
(http://www.androidauthority.com/nexusgalaxy-note-7-vs-nexus-6p5x-vs-moto-x-style-purefirst-look-707296/)
edition-651388/)

Nexus 6P vs Nexus 5X
(http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus6p-vs-nexus-5x-651302/)

Maintenance updates and the beta program

For those of you on the Android N beta program (http://www.androidauthority.com/youve-got-nougat-android-beta-now-711939/), you might want to stay on it even now
that Nougat is officially out. Google has announced (http://www.androidauthority.com/nougat-scheduled-maintenance-711884/) that regular Maintenance Release (MR)
updates will be rolling out in pre-release form to those on the beta program. The pre-release MRs will bring continued refinements and polish, but also deliver bug fixes
and feature tweaks before everyone else gets them.
As with all beta releases though, these might also be less stable than the regular updates everyone else will get. If youre the type that simply must have the latest and
greatest as soon as possible and are willing to suffer the occasional bug to get them, then the beta program is for you. Everyone else can just sit tight and wait for the regular
public releases to roll out.

Camera shortcuts

The update to the Google Camera that comes with Nougat on Nexus devices also adds a new twist gesture to switch between front and back cameras
(http://www.androidauthority.com/google-camera-nougat-twist-gesture-705604/). Unlike on Moto devices, it cant be used to launch the camera so it only works when the
camera app is already open.
Fortunately, the outstandingly handy power button shortcut returns, so all you need to do to instantly launch the camera is double press the power button. You may need to
enable this feature in the Displaysettings first though.

Recent apps changes

The recent apps menu (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-n-recent-apps-changes-679031/), or app overview, or multitasking menu or whatever you want to call it,
has also been slightly modified in Android 7.0. Cards are now larger and theres fewer of them, meaning the potentially endless list we had in Marshmallow has been
trimmed down to something a little more realistic. The Android system itself can now remove long-unused apps from the list.
A handy Clear all button (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-n-clear-all-folders-686494/) has been added to the very top of your card stack so you can clear up the
clutter and tell Nougat that it can close any associated app processes. If you use it on the regular, it will also make switching between your most recent apps a much easierto-navigate affair.
These changes, along with other time savers like the Quick Settings mini-toggles, camera shortcuts and the quick app switching feature really start to add up.

Time savers like the Quick Settings mini-toggles, camera shortcuts and the quick app switching feature really start to
add up.

Vulkan, Java 8 and OpenJDK

Nougat officially adds support for the Vulkan API, which promises faster, smoother and better rendered gaming graphics. I wont go into details because weve covered
Vulkan elsewhere in greater detail (http://www.androidauthority.com/khronos-group-vulkan-1-0-api-and-sdk-673798/), just know that it comes from the same folks
responsible for OpenGL and that OpenGL remains in Nougat.
Game developers can simply choose from the higher performance and complexity of Vulkan or stick with the easier-to-implement but less intense OpenGL standard. Its a
win-win for gamers and developers alike, even if Vulkan will take a while to spread.
Nougat also supports Java 8. Java 8 really only applies to developers, so I wont do a hatchet job here trying to explain why its a good thing. Sleep well knowing it allows
developers to do better things with code though. Finally, Nougat makes the move from Java APIs to an OpenJDK-based approach, which maybe doesnt matter so much
considering Google just beat Oracle in court (http://www.androidauthority.com/google-beats-oracle-695141/).

What is JIT anyway?

You know how on Lollipop and Marshmallow when you rebooted youd have to wait ages while the system optimized apps? Thats because back in Lollipop, Android made
the switch from the Dalvik virtual machineto the Android Runtime (ART) which compiles apps ahead-of-time. While this meant apps launched faster once you were booted,
rebooting itself took forever because all your apps had to be compiled first.
Android 7.0 switches things up a little, re-introducingjust-in-time (JIT) compilation
to ARTs repertoire. In simple terms, this means the Android system will precompile some apps but only compile parts of other apps when they are actually
required. The result is a faster booting phone, apps that use less RAM, require
less storage and get updated faster. Not bad, huh?

STRONGER

JIT means a faster booting phone and apps that use

less RAM, require less storage and get updated
faster.

No Android update would be complete without security improvements either. Android 7.0 has a lot of stuff going on, from hardening the media stack
(http://www.androidauthority.com/google-stagefright-android-n-691203/) so as to deny future Stagefright-style media library privilege escalations, to simply letting you know
from where an app was installed. But Nougat also has a few safety-minded features as well as serious security advancements.

Direct Boot

Direct Boot in Android Nougat (http://www.androidauthority.com/direct-boot-711668-711668/) aims to take that limbo stage between booting up and decrypting your device
and make it a little more useful. Imagine your phone randomly reboots without you knowing and you then miss an alarm and several important notifications? Well, Nougat
will now boot all the way to the lock screen before requiring a PIN or pattern unlock to decrypt, allowing select information to still be delivered to an encrypted device.
Direct Boot means youll still be able to receive incoming calls, get notifications, hear alarms and see new emails while your private information remains secure. You just have
to wait for developers to add Direct Boot support to their apps and hopefully not abuse the privilege. Direct Boot will never get a pat on the head in the same way as splitscreen mode will, but its arguably more useful for the average person.

Direct Boot means you'll still be able to receive incoming calls, get notifications and hear alarms while your private
information remains secure.

File-based encryption

I know, these topics are getting less and less sexy as we go on, but its important stuff, so stick with me, OK? Encryption is a really big deal. If the San Bernardino iPhone case
didnt already make you aware of that, Google wants to make sure Android Nougat does.
Suffice it to say that Android 7.0 moves to a file encryption basis as opposed to Marshmallows full disk encryption system. This means there is now a clear distinction
between device-encrypted content (like generic system data) and file-encrypted content (like app and user data). What this means for you is that your personal stuff is better
protected while boring system stuff can be made more useful.
As an example, Direct Boot accesses device-encrypted data that allows it to boot
all the way to the lock screen. But device-encrypted data can also include
explicitly registered app data like incoming notifications and calls. Everything else
is safely encrypted at the file level, further securing your data.
The new Nexuses will support file encryption and Direct Boot automatically, but
everyone else will have to enable Developer options and select Convert to file
encryption, which will wipe your data in the process. You will now see a lock
screen system notification on Direct Boot that reads Some functionality may be
limited.

Android 7.0 moves to a file encryption basis from full

disk encryption in Marshmallow.

Number blocking/call screening

Android 7.0 features an advanced number blocking and call screening (http://www.androidauthority.com/phone-blocking-call-screening-diving-into-android-n-679057/)
platform that provides users with complete control over unwanted callers and unknown numbers. Carrier integration also means numbers youve blocked through the dialer
can be blocked via all mediums, including VOIP and call forwarding. Number blocking can also block texts and allow multiple apps to use the blocked numbers list for more
system-wide blocking support.

Managing app folder access

Additionally, Nougat adds fine-grained control over what folders installed apps can access. Before, you kind of granted apps access to everything, but now you can limit their
access to files in much the same way as you can manage their permissions. Scoped directory access allows app developers to specifically request access to individual folders
rather than all of your folders another win-win.
Similarly, in the Special access part of the Apps section settings, you can tap through a multitude of restricted areas like Modify system settings, Draw over other apps,
Premium SMS access and Unrestricted data access to see which apps have requested access and toggle that access on or off. This is just one of the many user-facing
controls in Android 7.0.

Emergency info

Android Nougat can add emergency information (http://www.androidauthority.com/emergency-info-android-n-679061/) to your lock screen. Simply go to Settings > Users >
Emergency information to add the kinds of data youd want any first responders knowing, like your blood type, name and address and any allergies. Keep in mind though
that this information will also be visible to anyone that happens to pick up or steal your phone.

Better backups and Accessibility settings

With Nougat, even simple things like app backups are improved because they now cover app permissions, network access settings, restrictions and accessibility settings.
Accessibility on Android 7.0 has been stepped up too, with Accessibility settings being available during device setup, an obvious plus for anyone needing those features front
and center. Variable text-to-speech speed and mono output for those with single-ear hearing loss are great additions, as is the DPI slider for resizing on-screen content.

Android for Work

To round out the I-cant-believe-you-made-it-this-far section, Android 7.0 adds quite a few new features for Android for Work. From an always-on VPN to a Work Mode setting
that lets you block work-related notifications once youve clocked off for the day.
Youll obviously need a device with an Android for Work profile set up on it, but if you do, youll be able to enjoy fun stuff like ready access to the company directory and
additional security features for work-related apps that wont affect the rest of the device. Woohoo.

OTHER FEATURES

In the leftover pile we have an assortment of stuff, from Allo (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/google-allo) and Daydream
(http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/daydream-vr/) to Night Mode and VR (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/vr/). To run through them quickly, Google Assistant wont
appear until the new Nexuses arrive with Allo on board (were not even sure well see Allo released as a standalone app before then).
While Nougat officially supports both Daydream VR and Project Tango (http://www.androidauthority.com/tag/project-tango/), that wont really matter until we start seeing
Nougat appear on Daydream-ready devices (http://www.androidauthority.com/google-daydream-vr-ready-phones-705245/) and the Tango phone. Various mentions of VR
mode already exist, but they dont do much yet. We also dont have any Daydream headsets for the Nexus 6P either, assuming it will indeed support full blown Daydream VR.
Androids blue-light filtering Night Mode (http://www.androidauthority.com/dark-mode-android-n-preview-693480/) is another weird one. A piece of leftover code from the
first developer preview meant Night Mode stuck around in the previews as long as you kept accepting the OTA updates and didnt flash a new factory image.

Strangely, Night Mode, which was removed in the developer previews, still appears for some people in the final build
of Nougat.

Oddly, Night Mode still appears for some people in the final build of Nougat, although its functionality seems to be a little wonky depending on whos using it. A new app has
appeared (http://www.androidauthority.com/bring-back-nougat-night-mode-712262/) to bring it back fully (as all the relevant code remains in Nougat), but again, even thats
not working for everyone. Hopefully Google will fix those performance issues and bring it back officially in the next MR update.
Finally, there are a couple of new features in Developer options that are actually pretty useful to regular folks if youre willing to risk breaking things in order to make use of
them. You can now tell Android to allow an app to be moved to the SD card even if the apps manifest values say it cant be.
Furthermore, you can tell the system to force any app to appear in split-screen mode, even if it hasnt been designed to do so. Of course, the Google Camera the most
obvious non-split-screen-friendly app of them all is somehow exempted from this kind of coercion.

Dont miss: Android 7.1 is already in the works (http://www.androidauthority.com/android-7-1-nougat-possibly-coming-soon-712222/)

WRAP UP
If youve made it this far then youll be painfully aware of just how few sexy and exciting general audience features Android Nougat has and just how many boring but
ultimately more-useful-for-everyone nerd-features it packs in instead. There is a lot of customization potential in stock Android now, more than there has ever been before,
but it is perhaps wisely kept out of mainstream view.
Nougat adds some great features, the kind of stuff we used to have to turn to custom ROMs, manufacturer skins or third-party apps to get. But most of these will only really
ever be used by advanced users either because they are too complicated for the average user or because most people will never even realize they even exist.
This is perhaps, the best way to sum up Android 7.0 Nougat. Its an Android version for Android fans. It does the basics well and without much fuss for everyone, but for
those of us willing to dig around or with an eye on the future, theres plenty to keep us busy. Its remarkably stable with only a few inconsistencies and bugs: certainly the
fewest Ive ever seen on a new Android version.
But while it may be harder, better, faster, stronger for the Nexus master race, for the vast majority of Android users, the most important Nougat feature will be how well it
works if or when they ever actually get it on their device.
When do you expect to see Nougat? What is the one feature it misses out on?
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