What’s New in Android 9 Pie? AI‑Powered Features and Developer APIs Explained

On August 7, Google announced that the official name of the latest mobile operating system Android P is Android Pie and released its source code to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Today, Google has pushed the Android 9.0 Pie final release to Pixel devices.

Currently, Android Pie is only supported on Pixel phones. In beta testing, Android P was opened to Sony Xperia XZ2, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, Nokia 7 Plus, Oppo R15 Pro, Vivo X21, OnePlus 6 and Essential PH‑1.

Google says that before fall this year, Android Pie will be available for these devices and all eligible Android One devices. Google added that it is working with many other partners to push or upgrade devices to Android 9, and that Android Pie will no longer support Nexus devices.

Android 9 New Features

Google notes that Android Pie incorporates a large amount of AI assistance, making phones smarter, more convenient, and better able to meet users’ special needs.

Android Pie introduces many new features, including built‑in notch support, an adjusted quick‑settings panel, rounded notification bar, inline reply support (quickly reply to messages directly from notifications), smart reply in notifications, a unified UI for fingerprint authentication, privacy‑enhancing limits on background app execution, Adaptive Battery and Adaptive Brightness (powered by DeepMind), App Actions that predict the next user step, App Slices that display app UI in Google Search and Assistant, the BiometricPrompt API for biometric authentication dialogs, and a multi‑camera API that allows simultaneous access to two or more physical cameras.

The Adaptive Battery feature is especially interesting; it records the apps a user uses most often and prioritises power allocation for them. Adaptive Brightness similarly uses AI to automatically adjust screen brightness based on user preferences and environment.

Google illustrated how App Actions can predict user actions based on context. For example, on a Tuesday morning when a user is heading to work, App Actions might suggest opening Google Maps for navigation or playing an audiobook from Google Play Books; after work, it might suggest calling a family member or opening a favorite Spotify playlist.

App Slices will be released later in the fall. This feature can display relevant information from a user’s favorite apps directly in search results—for instance, typing “Lyft” in Google Search could show a UI with ride‑hailing options, price, and estimated arrival time.

The new Digital Wellbeing suite will first roll out to Pixel phones this fall and later to other devices. It includes a dashboard that records device usage time, an App Timer to set usage limits for specific apps, a Do‑Not‑Disturb mode that blocks screen pop‑ups, Night‑mode and Do‑Not‑Disturb activation before sleep, and a “WindDown” mode that turns the screen gray.

Android Pie also introduces a new navigation system featuring a single home‑button inspired by the iPhone X; swiping up from anywhere shows a full‑screen preview of recent apps, allowing users to tap a preview to return to that app. The Smart Text Selection feature can recognise the meaning of selected text and suggest relevant actions, and it now works within recent‑app previews as well.

Several privacy and security improvements are noteworthy. Android Pie adds Android Protected Confirmation, a new StrongBox keystore, built‑in support for DNS‑over‑TLS, a default network security configuration that blocks all cleartext traffic, and restrictions that prevent idle apps from accessing the microphone, camera, and all SensorManager sensors.

Finally, Android Pie brings 157 new emojis.

As with previous versions, Android Pie is currently limited to certain phones; manufacturers must customise the OS before releasing it to users. It has already launched on Pixel devices, and in the coming months will be rolled out to devices from Sony Mobile, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, Essential, and others.