Android 7.0 Nougat could arrive August 5

Google may launch Android 7.0 Nougat as soon as Friday.

This particular prediction came from known and generally reliable leaker Evan Blass, aka @evleaks, in a tweet on Saturday. "Android 7.0 releases next month, with the 8/5 security patch," Blass said in the tweet. Assuming Blass is correct, an August launch would be early for a new release of Google's mobile operating system, which in recent years has gotten off the ground in October or November.

But an August release doesn't mean Android device users can start nibbling at Nougat right away. Attribute the delay to the Android upgrade process. After Google launches a new version, phone makers and wireless carriers must test it on every device before they can plan and implement a rollout. That means Android users often have to wait months to receive the latest version.

Typically, Google rolls out a new flavor of Android to its own Nexus devices before the software wends its way to makers of other phones. And some Android devices likely won't ever make the grade.

In his tweet, Blass said: "Sorry Nexus 5 owners, no Nougat for you." The current Nexus phones sold by Google are the 5X and 6P. The Nexus 6 is still available, though not through Google. The current Android N Developer Previews do not include support for the Nexus 5.

One phone due to get a taste of Android 7.0 sooner rather than later is LG's upcoming V20.

A follow-up to LG's V10 smartphone, which came out last October, the V20 will launch in September as the first Android device equipped with Nougat out of the box, the South Korean company said Monday. The V20 will tap into certain key features of Android 7.0, LG said, including the Doze battery saver, support for better gaming graphics and Direct Reply to help people more quickly respond to text messages and other tasks using the notification panel.

:story: c|net