14 DAY TRIAL // During Google I/O, the tech giant launched the Android O beta program, bringing the next Android version to many Nexus and Pixel users. According to Android Police, Google Chrome on Android O gets support for adaptive icons.
The new feature can be used with Chrome website shortcuts, which can be featured on the home screen of the phone. The new website icons will match the icon design of the user interface, thus providing a more streamlined look to the home screen.
Adaptive icons were noticed in the second developer preview for Android O and they will eventually make it to a number of apps on smartphones. Previously, icons on the home screen of devices running Android version 7.1 and earlier simply used the icons that websites previously provided.
Android O brings a number of new features to smartphones
In Android O, these icons seem to match the user interface. For example, the default icon mask on Google Pixel is a circle, which means that Chrome website icons will also adopt the circular look.
It’s also worth mentioning that the new mask is suitable for websites that have a transparent icon, but not for those that implement their own backgrounds. Moreover, Chrome shortcuts now come with a Chrome icon in the bottom-right corner.
Google is preparing to bring a number of new features with Android O, including a new settings search that shows installed applications, while results received subtext with more information. Another exciting change that Android O brings is circular emojis, compared to the plain old gumdrop blob emojis that we’ve seen in previous versions.
Picture-in-picture mode is expected to arrive with Android O, together with new app notifications and a new copy and paste mode, to change the way users copy data from a certain app and paste it in another application saved on their smartphones. Android O also adds restrictions on background apps, thus allowing users to save battery life on their phones and prevent certain apps from slowing down the device or draining the battery.
