Three years ago Google introduced us to its new design language called Material Design. It was flat, graphical and colorful. It was the visual change that ushered in the beginning of a new age for Android, one that focused less on the rapid expansion of Android’s feature set, and more on refining what already existed and paving the way for the future.
In many cases, Android’s maturation period included absorbing popular features that debuted elsewhere, whether in manufacturer skins, alternate launchers or via the custom ROM scene. More and more attention was placed on battery life, security, performance stability and fine-grained user-facing control. Not as sexy as a complete visual overhaul, perhaps, but vastly more significant.
Android 8.0 represents the current pinnacle of that effort, the very tip of the spear, fresh from Google’s workshop. Android 8.0 Oreo is as comprehensive a version of Android as there has ever been, and it is as stable, feature-rich and functional as ever. While on the surface it may lack grand visual changes, what lies beneath is stacked with usability improvements and polish.
This is the Android Authority Android 8.0 review.
Note: The software version I will be referencing in this Android Oreo review is the first iteration of Android Oreo found on the Google Pixel, which I’ve been using for the better part of a week now. Note that supported Nexus devices will have a slightly different experience, as will devices by other manufacturers when they get the Oreo update. So while your Oreo experience may look a little different, the underlying features described here will be fundamentally the same.
Android 8.0 Oreo is the most palatable mainstream Android version yet. It is visually consistent, simplified, feature-rich and polished. Oreo is clearly designed to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, from satisfying the die-hard Android fan with its comprehensive feature set and advanced customization potential, to accommodating the iPhone switcher or tech debutante with its simplified layout and intuitive user experience. OEMs are even on that list, and we’ve seen increasingly more of them give up the manufacturer skin game in favor of what Google serves up. Oreo is for everybody.
The review that follows will be broken up into four key sections. The first will focus on the visual aspects of Oreo, the second section will look at those features offering greater control, the third will explore the ‘rapid access’ side of Android 8.0 and the last part will cover the smarter side of Oreo. If you want to see the development history of Oreo, take a look down memory lane with our Android Oreo developer preview feature tracker.
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