Upcoming Android Nougat MR1 Dev Preview Could Bring Google Assistant, Nexus Launcher, and Other Leaked Features

With the release of Android Nougat yesterday many users were left wondering what happened with many of the “leaked” features we would see in Android N. Things like the integrated Google Assistant, new nav bar icons, Nexus Launcher and others were absent in builds pushed to existing Nexus devices.

Many might immediately assume that existing devices would be left out of all of these goodies, and while they still could be, all is not as it may appear.

Thanks again to Nate Benis – XDA Recognized Developer Beanstown106 of Pure Nexus – we have a clearer look at why no Nexus devices were released and the absence of many features we expected. As we got closer to the proposed August 22nd release of Nougat many holdouts of an OS/Hardware launch event started to diminish, and for good reason. There were few hardware leaks, no packaging or supply chain leaks, and very little in the way of actual tangible evidence. While we still look ahead to the Nexus event, now rumored for late september or early October, Nate posted this morning that the leaked builds that Android Police and he has are not from the Android N version released today. The leaked Marlin build is off of a future Android N MR1 build that we have yet to see, whereas the build currently in production is built off the developer previews, naturally.

Yesterday, the Android Developers Blog had a “Whats Next for Nougat” post which clearly stated that we will see Google continuing the Developer Preview Program on into the future, starting with this MR1 build. Very much following the path that Apple is taking with its iOS Beta program, we should see regular Preview Programs for Nexus devices going forward and this is awesome but saddening for many users. As Google continues to tighten their release schedule and testing of new OS versions, Android OEMs will have to step up their game and release newer updated builds faster or risk being even further out of date. Thankfully we are already seeing manufacturers like LG and Sony working on builds and news of Samsung planning Nougat for the Note 7 within 90 days and this general movement is promising. But take it with a grain of salt until it actually happens for the vast majority of users who do not use unlocked devices.

So will we see older Nexus devices like the 6, 6P and 5X getting some of the rumored features of Marlin and Sailfish with this MR1 build? That is still anyone’s guess. However, while speaking of those leaked features Nate leaves off his post with the statement “…expect a developer preview of mr1 with these changes soon… “. 

So, does your device have Nougat yet? How are you liking it? Sound off in the comments below!

Source –  Nate Benis G+

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