It is expected that Google officially announces the newest version on his mobile platform. It should be on May, 8th during the I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California but little by little clues have been released and noticed by XDA-Developers from code in the Android Open Source Project.

Although very useful functionality has been added, some is for real and some other is just rumors. We will focus in those features more security related. Some of the highlights of ‘P’ (Pistachio Ice Cream internally called) will be:

Project Treble: Designed to speed up the update process for non-Nexus devices. Allowing (not only) faster deployment of updates and patches. Background apps will not have microphone & camera access: Improving confidentiality, installed applications running in background will not have direct access to media devices without your consent. So, microphone and camera won’t have default access thus protecting user privacy. Alert when your call is being recorded: In the same confidentiality context, the new OS will let you know when conversations are being recorded by 3th party apps. Screenshot features: This has not been confirmed yet, but apparently this feature will allow users to edit system-wide screenshots immediately after taking them. Signal Strength: Although this change is more aesthetic, it will also allow carriers to alter it, users could be presented with a disingenuous LTE signal and this isn’t limited to just carrier-branded phones. Smart Reply for all Apps: Machine learning is used to analyse incoming messages and present you with common quick responses.

Other interesting features:

Notches : For layout adjustments

: For layout adjustments Multiple displays support: for Multiple Screens & Foldable Displays

for Multiple Screens & Foldable Displays Wide Dark Mode: It was the lack of the dark mode and common complaints from users what originate the inclusion of this feature that will help users in certain luminosity conditions and by saving on battery consumption.

Although these features have not been 100% confirmed, do existed rumors that the next version of android will include them.

Is worth to mention that new security features have been added, nevertheless is the correct configuration what plays an important role to offer a decent protection level, we will see what the reality brings…