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Here are all the new features that Android N borrowed from iOS 9 [Gallery]

Android N

Google surprised everyone earlier today with the very first preview release of Android N — the next operating system update for Android devices — which anyone savvy enough with the right hardware can try out now for free even before Google’s upcoming I/O developer conference. Included in the first preview version of Android N are many new features that catch Google’s mobile OS up with Apple’s iOS 9 like split-screen apps and picture-in-picture mode. Like Apple, Google’s even launching a public beta program for consumers soon. Check out the full details at 9to5Google and see how each feature compares between Android N and iOS 9 below:

Apple poured new life into its tablet last year with iOS 9 for iPads. After years of working on the multitasking feature, Apple finally shipped side-by-side apps using an interface similar to Windows before it. Now with Android N, Google is bringing new multitasking power to its devices as well, and the implementation looks quite similar.

Notice the slider in the center. Testing Android N on a Nexus 9 tablet, this slider works similarly to iOS 9 on the latest iPad hardware, except Android allows the left app to be split into quarters, not just the right app. Android N also differs by using top and bottom apps in portrait mode while iOS 9 maintains left and right apps in both portrait and landscape mode.

Here’s Split View on iOS 9:

iWork Split View

And here’s how “split-screen” looks on Android N:

Android N Split-Screen

Android’s approach results in apps often breaking in portrait split-screen, while Apple’s approach creates really narrow and tall apps. While Android N is still in preview, the current method for engaging with split-screen apps also differs. iOS 9 requires apps to update to support Split View at all, while Android N in its first preview lets any app try to use split-screen, but many apps that obviously haven’t been updated yet break and Android flags the user with a message.

Android N Portrait Split Screen

There’s also picture-in-picture, which Apple brought to iPads with iOS 9. Android N currently saves PIP mode for Android TV, and it works and looks just as you’d expect.

Here’s PIP on iOS 9:

iPad Pro Split View PIP

And here’s PIP on Android N for Android TV:

PIP Android N

Admittedly, it would be nice if Apple TV gained system-wide picture-in-picture with tvOS. Android N for smartphones and tablets doesn’t yet support PIP (except the YouTube app where PIP is app-only of course).

Android N users also gain the ability to reply to notifications directly from alert banners. Apple introduced interactive notifications with quick reply back with iOS 8. Apple’s version looks like this:

Banner Quick Reply

Starting with Android N, quick replies will come to Android devices and look like this:

Android N Quick Reply

Finally, Android N includes Night Mode (which was previously in Android M previews but didn’t ship with Marshmallow). This setting lets you apply a dark theme to areas which usually have a light them throughout Android. It can also be automatically enabled based on location and time of day, and optionally adjust both tint and brightness.

While Apple lacks a system dark mode feature, it has introduced a new feature called Night Shift in iOS 9.3, which works like Flux on computers to adjust the color temperature of displays for easier night time use. Android N’s Night Mode takes similar steps.

Here’s what Night Shift looks like on iOS 9.3 when cranked all the way up:

iOS 9.3 Night Shift

And here’s Android N’s Night Mode option:

Android N Night Mode

Of course iOS hasn’t been shy about borrowing features from Android (and Windows!) over the years, so sharing good ideas is just par for the course. Where it counts is how these features are implemented, and who wins that battle is up to you.

Android N also includes a number of other changes already available in the first preview version, including a brand new notification shade, enhancements to Android’s power-saving Doze feature, a new wallpaper, and a whole lot more which you can read about on 9to5Google.

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Comments

  1. rzozaya1969 - 8 years ago

    Split screen and PIP were available on Samsung Note a while back…

  2. Derek Nguyen - 8 years ago

    Most of these features were already on Samsung Note series, regardless how bad their software and touchwiz was, they were the first to have PIP or true multi-tasking. For the “night shift” mode, Android has had it for years through CyanogenMod. Quick reply has always been a feature of Textra. Just shows how much this website can be biased and uneducated about it’s research.

    • tomi2711 - 8 years ago

      TouchWiz is and Android fork. Textra is an Android app. Cyanogen is an Android fork. Android fork != Android, Android app != Android. Just shows how much some users can be biased and uneducated about its research (for commenting).

      • cdm283813 - 8 years ago

        You’re just proving his point; these were features that did not originate from iOS.

      • viciosodiego - 8 years ago

        uhhh, touchwiz is an android skin, not a fork.
        cyanogenmod is an android rom, not a fork.
        Actually, cyanogenmod is the “true” android.
        :d

      • joshblinney - 8 years ago

        I know what your saying. It’s the fact. Android has needed apps all
        This time. Samsung had multitasking from touch wiz. Not true android. The apps and extensions to add features aren’t true android. So when android do make it into the pure android system with no add ons. And it looks similar to Apple. Then this post is relevant. And anyway. All phones do the same. And i’m a apple fan boy. It’s all preference.

    • srgmac - 8 years ago

      I fail to see the point of playing the “who had it first” game — it’s not really about who had it first, but who has the CURRENT best implementation, based on your own personal preferences.

      • eswinson - 8 years ago

        Intend of who wore it first? Let’s talk about who wore it best?

  3. Yeah I’ve had a bunch of these features either through GravityBox, an app, or CyanogenMod, etc. for years. This stuff has been around forever. What else would you expect from a site called 9to5Mac?

    • xp84 - 8 years ago

      You ask what else would I expect on a site called 9to5mac? Well it wouldn’t be complete without Android fanbois dropping in to comment and moan about how much better their specs are and how Android totally did this and that feature WAY before (especially if you’re super 1337 like they are and had the best rom and mods that you compiled yourself), and usually to insult people for choosing a different brand of OS than they chose!

  4. jamkor - 8 years ago

    “Android N users also gain the ability to reply to notifications directly from alert banners.” Can you do this without unlocking the phone?

    • Robert Wilson - 8 years ago

      Yes we can reply to stuff from the lock screen without unlocking the phone I just did it a Monet ago replying to a SMS.

  5. davidt4n - 8 years ago

    Xiaomi MIUI has had the night mode long long ago. That’s the fact. I don’t mean iOS copying or the one that borrow but every apple fan should know apple rolling out ‘new’ features are kinda slow because they don’t rush as whatever they do, those products still sell. This is why iPhone 6 has 1GB ram still, at that year.

    • Google is like microsoft, lots of different devices should run android, thats why its so expensive to make quality apps for android, it eats lots of memory in result. iphone version consumes less memory and in result its better to have more ram on android in any case, but it is more bad than good

    • vertsub2015 - 8 years ago

      The iPhone doesn’t need to be over spec ‘d to be one o the fastest phones on the market.

  6. Jonathan (@Jon889) - 8 years ago

    from the video I’ve seen of Android N’s split view and from what I’ve used on my iPad, I prefer Android’s implementation, the app selector is just the standard android app switcher rather the horrendous grey cards iOS has, and you can split the screen directly from the switcher.

    • incredibilistic - 8 years ago

      I would agree that the icon-only implementation of split-screen app switching leaves much to be desired but I can’t help but think that Apple will update this in the future with actual thumbnails of the app in action, similar to how app switching works now.

      For now Android is the winner but I have hope Apple will address this in a future update. Like most things Apple they’re more of a toe dipper rather than jumping in head-first. I’d wager that app previews take up memory and CPU resources so maybe Apple’s working on that or working on the next generation of AX chip before implementing that.

      If it sounds like I’m giving Apple pass, well, I guess you’re right but I also think it’s far from a dealbreaker in terms of actual use. Android N is just in beta right now. How their split-screen will perform in the wild is another issue entirely.

      As is common in the Android world after a year the OS starts to get bogged down. It’s possible the split-screen could be yet another element that weighs down the OS.

      • wdm6502 - 8 years ago

        Apple will also probably be on iOS 11 by the time Android N gets on the majority of compatible devices. Hopefully iOS 10 has some improvements and that’s just around the corner.

  7. srgmac - 8 years ago

    This is a good thing…The more they copy off of each other, the more innovations that come out to try to stay ahead — it’s a win win.

    • Charlypollo - 8 years ago

      Finally someone with a sane mind. I don’t care who copies who, as long as the best smarphone features are available on iOS I’m happy.

    • JBDragon - 8 years ago

      Copying is NOT Innovating! For example Apple Pay was NOT a copy of Google Wallet. About the only thing they had in common was the transaction started with NFC. After that it was completely different. That’s Innovation!!!! Coming out after with Android Pay and Samesung Pay is COPYING!!!! Because that’s exactly what’s going on. They COPIED what Apple did. They didn’t Innovate at all!!!

      Samesung does it all the time. Flat out copies Apple, time after time after time. It’s not Innovation, far from it. Here’s 3 pages of copying from Samesung alone! http://samsungcopiesapple.tumblr.com/

  8. Eugene Norris Horan Jr. - 8 years ago

    For the most part, all of these features you see in both Android and IOS originated from Samsungs “Android” Platform. Don’t confuse Android for one phone or software. It is (for the most part) open-source. Android is what you make of it. Although Samsung has had these features for years, I believe, it is Googles attempt to handle features that were unique to Samsung to speed up updates on their devices. It lightens the load of Samsung, and will be developed by some of the best engineers in the world. I assume it can be quite difficult to keep your phones (Samsung’s) unique features up to date with each software update.

  9. dComments (@dComments) - 8 years ago

    Not only on iOS and Android,.but we had this on Windows 8.1 tablets a couple of years ago.

  10. Reagan Lyle - 8 years ago

    Also Android has had reply from notification for a while now, and correct me if I am wrong, but did APPLE copy Android with the screen mirroring feature introduced on iOS 9? And didn’t Apple copy Google’s AI with Siri?

  11. DarkMx2000 - 8 years ago

    Most of these features were already present on Android before they even came to Apple so I don’t quite understand this post 🤔

  12. joead - 8 years ago

    Seriously…? I thought we’d moved on from the whole ‘Android copied from iOS’ or vice-versa.

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m a happy iOS user and love 9to5, but isn’t it now obvious that as os’s mature they will gain broadly the same features?

    Posts like this just make 9to5 look pretty childish imo.

  13. galley99 - 8 years ago

    That buttonless keyboard looks terrible!

  14. Juan Trevino (@jag17t) - 8 years ago

    yeah, Samsung, regardless of whether or not it isn’t android, has had these features years before iOS 9 was even thought of. It is still software that like anything else, Apple claims to be original and innovative when Samsung has been innovating in better and more efficient ways than Apple ever has. No, Android did not copy iOS 9, these features have always existed before iOS 9..just saying

  15. Greg Buser - 8 years ago

    Big deal, most Android users are still waiting for the last update.

  16. Brian - 8 years ago

    Geez, I believe it’s articles like these that keep the Android vs IOS fighting alive. All these things have been available on “Android” devices for years, and yes, unrooted. Maybe not native to android until now but available nonetheless. But native in no way means they borrowed it from iOS. If anything they borrowed it from their own partnered manufacturers and development community… you know, the ones who are doing a large amount of the innovating, in both camps. Why are you guys not bickering about that instead?

  17. Simone Grojean - 8 years ago

    Thinking back to how much Apple has borrowed from its competitors it really has nothing to say. And since it was a poor sport about it too by borrowing and then marketing it like they were being stolen from Apple really has nothing to say. Go Android! Take down iOS’s pitifully small market share already!

  18. Android doesn’t have a built in video player so of course there won’t be PIP, though there are many third party video players that do, like VLC. So in a way, yes, Android has had PIP for a while now.

Author

Avatar for Zac Hall Zac Hall

Zac covers Apple news, hosts the 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast, and created SpaceExplored.com.