After weeks of delay, HMD Global Oy commenced the Android Pie beta testing for the Nokia 8, earlier in December. Now, the company has finally released the public version to the flagship phone.
Juho Sarvikas, chief product officer, HMD Global confirmed on Twitter that the Android Pie is being rolled out to the Nokia 8 in phases. It is said to bring all-new full-screen navigation gesture interface, latest Google security patch and more.
It can be noted that the company has skipped the digital wellbeing and App Actions features from the Android Pie, as it needs more fine-tuning, but has promised to bring in subsequent firmware updates in near future.
In the Twitter message thread of Sarvikas, several followers asked when the company would expand the Android Pie deployment to Nokia 8 Sirocco edition, to that he replied that the software will be coming really soon and also promised that 2017-series Nokia 6 too will get the Google's sweet baked pastry dish-flavoured mobile OS, but little later. HMD Global engineers are making the software optimised to overcome the hardware limitation. Rest assured every Nokia phone is part of Android One series programme and will get two years of software support and an additional 12 months of security patch support.
Here's how to install Android Pie on Nokia 8:
Step 1: Once you get new software notification, select "Yes, I'm in"
Step 2: After the software is downloaded, select "Install now"
Step 3: After the software is installed, your phone will restart automatically
Step 4: Your phone is now updated
If you haven't received any update notifications, check it manually by going to Settings >> phone >> check system update. If it says there is an update available, follow the procedure as mentioned above.
Android Pie: Key features you need to know
- Besides the usual Google security patch, Android 9 Pie brings several new safety features, including a standardized biometric authentication prompt to provide a more consistent authentication experience across Android.
- After upgrading to the Android Pie, devices will restrict any apps accessing users' phone microphone, camera, or other sensors when an app is idle or running in the background. (If an app does need to access a sensor, it will show a persistent notification on your phone.)
- Furthermore, Android 9 introduces several new security features, including a standardized biometric authentication prompt to provide a more consistent authentication experience across Android.
- The Pie update also brings important enhancements that protect all web communications and offer private web surfing. It enables encryption of Android backups with a client-side secret (the device PIN, pattern or password) for greater security.
- One of the key attributes of Android Pie is the digital wellbeing. It brings Dashboard, which highlights screen time and phone usage including how many times the device has been unlocked and a number of notifications received so that they get an overview on how much obsessed with the phone. It also allows users to set App Timers to put limits on app usage [This will be added in a separate software update later in the coming months].
- Android Pie also comes with Wind Down and Do Not Disturb. With these features, users can set a daily schedule to get the phone ready for bed. Its screen fades to Grayscale, while Do Not Disturb silences notifications for a restful sleep. He/she can activate Do Not Disturb anytime they want to disconnect.
- Android 9 Pie also makes notifications more useful and offer actionable functionalities with conversations such as attach photos and stickers along with suggesting smart replies. Also, helps users get things done faster by predicting their next move and displaying the right action on the phone [This will be added in a separate software update later in the coming months].
- The new System navigation system offers a single home button that provides intelligent predictions and suggestions (user enabled).
- Android Pie's Slices feature identifies relevant information of users' favourite apps to make them more easily accessible when they need them
- Other notable features include full-view screen friendly swipe-based navigation interface option, revamped setting drawer, adaptive battery and display, extend battery life and several others.
