Here's a look at Android O's app shortcuts

Autumn is approaching, which means that Google is readying the next Android update. Google had already unveiled the new operating system to developers and it has even released the final developer build, showing that majority of the work has been done on the operating system. Android O is destined to bring a lot of new features and a host of power management improvements. However, in a recent blog post, Google has laid out a detailed take on what’s new in terms of app shortcuts in Android 8.0.

Google had massively worked on the shortcuts in last year’s Android 7.0 Nougat and those new features, that include the long-press on an icon to access shortcuts, will be retained in this year’s Android release as well. However, what’s new this year is the ability to add a shortcut for a particular app activity from within the app. App developers will have to provide an option to create a shortcut for eligible app activities.

Until now, a shortcut on the home screen only carried the name of the activity with a general icon. Therefore, to improve productivity, Google has now modified the shortcut icon – each shortcut will be marked with an app icon so as to make it easier for users to explore. Note that this will be only applicable to pinned shortcuts.

While nothing specific has been mentioned about widgets, we expect Google to embed some improvements and new features by the time Android O is released to the public. Android O is expected to release this fall and will be available on Google flagship devices initially before rolling out to other manufacturers.

(source)