Android 8.0 Oreo: Considerations for testing

The new Android 8.0 release has arrived.  Continuing the pattern of alphabetised confectionery naming conventions – 8.0 has appropriately been named Oreo.  Some say that this, relative to other releases, is a fairly light update for the Android operating system but there are a number of things you might want to consider when developing, updating or testing apps:

Autofill support

We would recommend that applications using this functionality are first checked on 8.0 to make sure that the feature works as intended and then test with Android 7 and 6 to ensure it hasn’t affected any functionality when accessed on these OS versions.

Background location limits

If your application is heavily reliant on location services then we might suggest doing a benchmarking test on Android 7 first before seeing whether the new background limits on 8.0 will alter the running of the app.  In a similar way to background location limits, we would want to test how background execution limits affect the running of an app by benchmarking first on Android 7.

Adaptive notification dots

This is a new function so can’t be benchmarked to previous OS versions. There are a number of test considerations for the new notification dots and previews on Android 8.0 that might introduce some functional issues should the previews not be implemented correctly.  As there are a large number of variables here, Zoonou is developing a test suite to cover the new notification function.

Tooltips

If you are implementing this feature into your application on 8.0 we would recommend tests to check things such as text overflow rendering to make sure that the copy is appearing as intended.

Here’s a list of the official feature updates for Android 8.0 taken from the official Oreo release website.

Accessibility button : Allows you to quickly access from the navigation bar accessibility features, like magnification, and functionality within accessibility services, like Select to Speak.

Accessibility volume : Accessibility services can optimize the audio experience for users with disabilities.

Adaptive icons : Developers can now provide a full-bleed square shaped icon and OEMs will mask the icon to ensure intra-device consistency.

Ambient screen : Highlights the incoming notification with larger font, highlighted app name and immediate access to actions.

Background execution limits : More control over how apps run in the background for better overall system performance.

Background location limits : Limits the frequency of location updates in the background for better overall system health.

Deep color : Enables applications to render richer visual content with more vibrant colors and subtler gradients. Supports full color management which allows applications to render images in the format and quality they were intended.

Downloadable fonts : Applications no longer need to bundle custom fonts, which helps reduce their size.

Install unknown apps : Hostile downloader apps can’t operate without permission; users now permit the installation of APKs per-source.

Integrated printing support : Compatible with all Mopria-certified printers, which make up 97% of printers sold worldwide.

Linkable files : API that allows you to share files across the Internet via web links.

Native C/C++ API for high-performance audio : API function for high-performance audio including Native C/C++ audio API.

Notification categories : More granular and consistent control over which notifications can appear and how intrusive they are.

Notification snoozing : Lets users hide notifications for a period of time, similar to Inbox snoozing.

Pointer capture : Pointer capture allows the app to capture all mouse input.

Project Treble : The biggest change to the foundations of Android to date: a modular architecture that makes it easier and faster for hardware makers to deliver Android updates.

TextView autosizing : Developers can now let the size of their text expand or contract automatically based on the size and characteristics of the TextView, making it much easier to optimize the text size on different screens or with dynamic content.

Tooltips : Support for tooltips (small popup windows with descriptive text) for views and menu items.

Wi-Fi Assistant : Auto-connects you to high quality open WiFi and secures your connection with a VPN back to Google.

Test Essentials:

• Head of Technical Services: Mike Goodman
• Test Analyst: Jordan Stanley

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