Android N Developer Preview? It's exciting for most of you

Android N name: What will Android 7.0 be called?

Following Android Alpha and Android Beta, Google has always named its Android OS updates after sweet treats, and in alphabetical order. So far we've had Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop and Marshmallow.

Next in line is Android 'N', sure to be a sweet treat, but Google won't reveal the operating system's full name until the second half of 2016.
Google's major Android OS upgrades haven't always come annually, but in May 2015 Google VP of engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer told Fast Company that "As we've grown as a platform, we realize that to some extent predictability is important for the whole industry: developers, manufacturers, operators, and consumers, frankly. So we've landed with sort of a yearly cadence of big releases, so, for instance, one year we release J, the next year we release K, and then the year after that L, and then this year we'll launch M, and so you can predict what will happen next year.
You can expect Android O in 2017, Android P in 2018, Android Q - that's going to be difficult to name - in 2019 and so forth.
With the exception of KitKat, the naming schemes of all previous Android OS updates have been food stuffs rather than brands. But this naming scheme may create a problem for Android N. How many food stuffs can you think of that begin with N?

For now, our money is on Android 7.0 Nectar. It's sweet, it begins with an N, and it's already the stuff of goodness as the name of a UK-based loyalty scheme for shoppers of Sainsbury's, eBay, Argos, BP and more.
But that's just our guess. Some other suggestions include Android Nacho, Android Nougat (Android Nugget anyone?), Android Neopolitan and Android Nuts (probably a no-go). And if Google does once again go down the branded route, we love Android Nutella and Android Nerds. Also see: Android M vs iOS 9.
Actually, there's a very good chance it could be Android Nacho, if a 'thank you' video posted on Twitter is anything to go by. "We'd like to thank... all of our fans out there, our parents, Janice from craft services, for the lollipops, marshmallows and Na..." reads a card within the video. So, it's likely that the next version of Android could begin Android Na...

Add your own Android N naming ideas in the comments below this article.

Android 7.0 N poll

Android N UK release date: When is Android N coming out? Android N Developer Preview

Android N will get its first proper outing at Google I/O 2016, which has now been confirmed to run 18- to 20 May 2016. However, Google has already released the Android N Developer Preview, which you can install on its current Nexus devices for early testing. If you wish to be at Google I/O, note that registrations begin on 8 March.
Later in the year, most likely October 2016 (although in 2015 we saw Google announce Android Marshmallow early at the end of September), the final version of Android N will be announced. It will ship preinstalled on whichever new Nexus devices Google creates for 2016, most likely sticking to new Nexus phones, and will be available to download to older Nexus devices soon after. Other flagship Android devices will get the upgrade toward the end of the year or early 2017.
The Android N Developer Preview was announced in March 2016, and Google has provided the following timeline. Preview 1 is the initial release or Alpha version of Android N. Preview 2 and Preview 3 are incremental beta updates. Preview 4 will include the final APIs and official SDK, Play Publishing, while Preview 5 is the near-final system image for last-minute tests. The final release will follow Preview 5 in Q3 2016.
Some time between the Developer Preview going live and the final version of Android N being announced Google will confirm the new operating system's name and number, revealing a new Android lawn statue at the US Googleplex. And we will find out exactly how far off the mark is our guess of Android 7.0 Nectar. Also see: Best new phones coming in 2016.

Android N UK release date: When will my phone get Android N?

As we've said above, Android N won't be released until the tail end of 2016, and even then only on Nexus devices. If you have a recent flagship phone or tablet from a well-known maker such as Sony, Samsung, HTC, LG or Motorola, it's likely you'll see the update rolled out within the first few months of 2017. However, before you can get the update both the hardware manufacturer and mobile operator must be ready to roll it out, which can slow down things.
It's telling that even a year and a half after its release, Android Lollipop has only recently become the most popular Android operating systems. Often only the most recent flagships get an update to new Android operating systems (also see: How to update Android), and even then nothing is guaranteed. With thousands of people still using Android phones that are entry-level models, from less well-known manufacturers or simply old, there are still people out there running Froyo and Gingerbread - and they will never get an update to Android N.
At the latest count on 7 March 2016, Android Developers published the following breakdown of Android platform segregation:

Android version	Codename	Distribution
2.2	Froyo	0.1%
2.3.3-2.3.7	Gingerbread	2.6%
4.0.3-4.0.4	Ice Cream Sandwich	2.3%
4.1.x	Jelly Bean	8.1%
4.2.x	Jelly Bean	11.0%
4.3	Jelly Bean	3.2%
4.4	KitKat	34.3%
5.0	Lollipop	16.9%
5.1	Lollipop	19.2%
6.0	Marshmallow	2.3%

Android N new features: What to expect from the next Android OS

It's been rumoured that the next version of Android will 'kill' Chrome OS, and that the two operating systems will become one with Chrome folded into Android. This is something Google has aparently been working on for a long time and, while it has recently made some progress, the single OS isn't expected to be ready until 2017, making it more likely that if any Android OS is to kill off Chrome OS it will be Android 8.0 O. Google will want to increase its market share with laptops (proper laptops rather than tablet hybrids) running Android, but for now the company has confirmed that both operating systems will continue to exist.
But Google wants to do more than put Android on more devices, Lockheimer revealed during his Fast Company interview. Google wants smart Android devices to talk to each other better in order to offer new features that right now aren’t possible. Also see: Best Android apps and Best Android games.
In terms of actual new features in Android N, all we know for sure is what can be seen in the Android N Developer Preview.
• Multi-window: allows you to work in split-screen modes on phones and tablets
• Direct-reply notifications: allows you to reply to notifications within the notification bar
• Bundled notifications: multiple notifications from the same app can be grouped together
• Efficiency: Doze now also saves battery whenever the screen is turned off
• Improved Java & language support: Java 8 language features are coming to Android
Read next: Check out our round-ups of the best current Android phones and Android tablets.
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