Google Makes Android 9 Pie Official, OTA Rolling Out To Pixel Smartphones

We were expecting the stable release of Android P on August 20, but contrary to our expectations, Google has just made the latest version of Android official. Google has named the new treat of Android as 'Pie'. Unlike previous iterations of Android, Google has avoided using the decimal for the Android version. Pie's version number is 9, rather than 9.0.

In its blog post announcing Android Pie, Google introduced Android 9 as "Powered by AI for a smarter, simpler experience that adapts to you." With this release, Google aims to make Android automatically adapt to the needs and usage patterns of a person. The AI-based features in Android 9 include adaptive brightness, adaptive battery, smart text selection and predictive app actions.

Android 9 Pie also comprises some features which are intended to improve your 'digital wellbeing'. The Dashboard will show you statistics of how you are using your device. If you feel that you are overusing an app, you can limit its usage using the App Timer. The revamped Do Not Disturb mode puts all visual interruptions, such as notifications, on hold, and when you are about to go to bed, Android Pie will automatically enable Night Light and switch on Do Not Disturb. Digitial Wellbeing is not available in today's release of Android Pie. The feature will be enabled for Pixel smartphones later this fall and for Android One devices by the end of the year. Even though the stable rollout of Digital Wellbeing is a couple of weeks away, Pixel users can give the beta version of the feature a shot by clicking here.

Just as Digital Wellbeing, Slices hasn't been included yet and will be rolled out later this fall. Slices are extensions of the user interface of an app into the Google search bar. As shown in the example above, 'slices' of the Lyft app show the travel fare, distance and ETA of the most frequented destinations.

Google has begun the update rollout of Android 9 Pie to the users of the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. The update notification might take a while to show up, but you should be able to pull the update manually. To check for the update manually, go to Settings > System > System updates > Check for updates. The OTA and factory images of the update are also available and can be found at the links in the source.

Source: Google, Factory Images, OTA Images

Krittin Kalra

Krittin Kalra is a 20 year old Android freak. Striving for passions, chasing down his dreams and living a life without regrets is his sole mantra. A bit moody, he also does custom ROM reviews for AndroGuider. Currently pursuing his B.Tech, he aspires to follow his heart.