Android N 7.0 UK release date and name rumours, Developer Preview and new features - Will your phone get Android N?
We detail the new features in Android N, and round up the
Android N UK release date rumours. Plus: what will the next version of
Android N be called? (Clue: not Android Namey McNameFace.) 
Android N 7.0 UK release date and name rumours, Developer Preview and new features - Will your phone get Android N?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. Also see: How fast is Android N? And how to split screen in Android N.
Next in line is Android 'N', sure to be a sweet treat, but Google is having difficulty in deciding which one. It allowed people to vote on the new Android N name at android.com/name-n until 8 June, and will announce the name soon.
In the latest Developer Preview an easter egg jokingly suggests the name will be Android Namey McNameFace. Tap the version name in Settings seven times and you'll see the following:
Android N UK release date: When is Android N coming out? Android N Developer Preview 4
In an unusual move Google unveiled the Android N Developer Preview ahead of Google I/O in order to give it more time to incorporate feedback from developers. At Google I/O the company discussed some new features that we'll detail below, and announced that a public beta of Android N was available.We're now up to Android N Developer Preview 4, which doesn't appear to have any major new features but is mostly concerned with APIs. There will be one more Developer Preview prior to the final release.
At I/O 2016 Google said the final version of Android N would be available later in the summer. Our money is on late September, at which point it will likely ship the new OS preinstalled on the new Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 phones for 2016. Android N will be available to download to older Nexus devices soon after, and 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.
Android N UK release date: When will my phone get Android N? Will my phone get Android N?
As we've said above, Android N won't be released until Q3 2016, and even then only on certain Nexus devices. Nexus phones and tablets are always the first to get new operating system updates, but even Google won't support them forever. Security updates are provided for three years following the device's release, or 18 months after it is removed from the Google Play Store (whichever is longer).So, for example, the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P will be supported by Google until September 2017, which means they will get both Android N and next year's Android O. The Nexus 9 and Nexus 6 will both be supported until October 2016, which should mean they get an update to Android N but not Android O. Older Nexus devices will not be upgraded.
Those with supported Nexus devices should find the update rolls out to their device following the launch of the new Nexus phones for 2016, or at least within a few weeks of launch, giving a timeframe of around September 2016.
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 6 June 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 |
2.0% |
|
4.0.3-4.0.4 |
Ice Cream Sandwich |
1.9% |
|
4.1.x |
Jelly Bean |
6.8% |
|
4.2.x |
Jelly Bean |
9.4% |
|
4.3 |
Jelly Bean |
2.7% |
|
4.4 |
KitKat |
31.6% |
|
5.0 |
Lollipop |
15.4% |
|
5.1 |
Lollipop |
20.0% |
|
6.0 |
Marshmallow |
10.1% |
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