Just a few days ago, we discussed Apple’s release of the seventh Beta of iOS 10. This is just a few weeks ahead of the main release, rumored to be in mid to late September. But ahead of iOS 10, Google went ahead and dropped their newest OS, Nougat. As an Android app development company, we naturally stay on top of the ball. But behooves entrepreneurs to pay attention too – especially when it comes to Google. The company that does no evil is extremely friendly to third party development. Why is that important? Because it means that app owners (want to own your own app for android or iOS? Contact us now!) can take advantage of Android’s awesome onboarded features. What Android focuses on tells the savvy entrepreneur what’s going on with the market. Nougat is no different. While the baseline features are streamlined and improved, there’s a new focus that we haven’t seen before – virtual reality. While Google has already made significant investments in the VR arena, this emphasis with nougat points to one thing: VR is here and apps for VR are going to make money. VR Apps For Cardboard and Daydream If you own a VR app, or are interested in building one, now is definitely the time to get your foot in the door. Apps for VR and AR already had a lot of support in the tech world, but now Android has made it official. Android has made it clear that Nougat is specifically designed to deliver a high quality VR experience for mobile devices, specifically through their highly anticipated DayDream platform. If you want to know more about Daydream (set to be released this fall) and Cardboard, you can read about both in-depth here. Currently, Nougat has two SDKs for developers: VR for Unity (for devices like Samsung’s Gear VR) and VR for Android (for all Google mobile devices). Technically, Android also offers a VR SDK for iOS, but it basically lets you build VR apps for Cardboard. The VR for Android SDK especially promises to have a huge impact on VR apps. With features like headtracking and binocular rendering (to help reduce disparity), this SDK is going to support some truly awe-inspiring VR apps! But there is a lot more to Nougat than VR. Specifically, we want to talk a little bit more about a trend that we’re seeing with both iOS 10 and Android. Both mobile OS’ are heavily emphasizing Mobile First, especially for Enterprise purposes. Nougat and Enterprise Both Google and Apple are heavily investing in Mobility. Both companies understand that the Mobile First trend is more than just a flash in the pan. As a population, the US has become largely mobile: from work to play, we do it all on the go. And the rest of the planet is moving towards mobile devices even faster. Nougat is clearly designed to help people work on their mobile devices (both phones and tablets). Much of the planet is bypassing the desktop phase of enterprise entirely, and Android clearly recognizes this trend: ♦ Direct Reply, already a feature for Messenger Apps on Marshmallow are now expanded to more notifications. Personally, I love this because I frequently write documents on my phone. Direct Reply lets me easily respond to messages (and now any notification!) without breaking my flow; ♦ Nougat’s Quick Switch feature lets mobile workers easily toggle back and forth between two screens with a simple double tap. This makes it easier to multi-task without missing a beat, but even better is the next feature; ♦ Multi-window allows users to actually have two simultaneous apps running next to each other. For example, if you have field techs, they can be viewing your enterprise app and GPS map at the same time (though you can hire us and we can code a Map API right into your app!). These changes are especially important for those who own Android enterprise apps. Android already controls roughly 75% of the market and will likely continue to grow this share as more of the world comes online. Android has a distinct advantage over Apple when it comes to the enterprise: it’s cheaper. As we all know, Apple is end-to-end. While they have stellar features and pretty awesome phones, they are expensive (and there aren’t cheaper alternatives). Android, on the other hand, is largely an OS company – they (mostly) leave the hardware for others. The plethora of Android devices means that a CEO can easily buy a ton Android phones and tablets (you can even get a tablet with your company logo on it!) for their employees. Google has clearly recognized this and is growing its support for enterprise apps and a mobile workforce. Enterprise apps specifically designed for business purposes, like our partner company, Moxtra. These apps help to grow companies, improve organizational communication and provide data analytics on the go, just to name a few things. Truly, an enterprise app is one of the best business growth tools available. Enterprise apps are especially useful to CEOs and SMB owners and, because of exceptional need for them, make a lot of money for their owners. The best part of an enterprise app is that, like a SaaS program, you can build it for your industry – and then sell it to you competitors! Want to get your app updated to Android’s API 24 and ready for your users? Give our Android Nougat developers a call at 408.805.0495/408.621.8481 – or click to contact us! Don’t have an Android app yet? No problem! We can build one for you in 4 weeks!