Google is already updating its apps for Android N
Hangouts first in line
Have you taken the plunge with Android N yet? The early developer preview version launched this week is far from the finished article but it should get more polished over time - and Google has already starting updating its mobile apps to play nicely with the new OS.
A fresh version of Hangouts has just been pushed out, for example, which includes support for the bundled notification and quick reply features that come along with Android N.
The changes should make powering through your notifications easier than ever. Android N also tweaks the visual look of the alerts on screen, which now take up the whole width of the display.
Betas and bugs
With a new version of Hangouts now in the wild you can expect to see apps like Gmail, Google Maps and Google Photos get the same treatment; and of course third-party app developers will be busy tweaking their own code as well.
There's no doubt more to come from the as-yet-unnamed Android N, but it already offers improvements to notification handling and battery life, as well as a new multi-window mode for running apps side by side.
Anyone with a compatible device (a new-ish Nexus or Pixel C) can try out the Android N developer preview for themselves via the Android Beta Program - but the software is still prone to crashes and bugs, and isn't suitable for a device you rely on.
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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.