Android version 9.0: Pie

Android version 9.0: Pie

The newest addition to our Android versions list is the freshly baked Android Pie. Android 9 entered the world in early August 2018 after several months of evolution in public beta previews.

Pie's most transformative change is its new gesture navigation system, which trades the traditional Android Back, Home and Overview keys for a single multifunctional Home button and a series of gesture-based commands.

Android 9 boasts numerous other noteworthy productivity features, including a universal suggested-reply system for messaging notifications, a more effective method of screenshot management, and more intelligent systems for power management and screen brightness control. And, of course, there's no shortage of smaller but still-significant advancementshidden throughout Pie's filling, such as a smarter way to handle Wi-Fi hotspots, a welcome twist to Android's Battery Saver mode and a useful new touch for fingerprint sensors.

Android 9 has plenty of under-the-hood improvements as well, including a variety of significant privacy and security enhancements. And the software sports its share of visual tweaks, such as an updated look for notifications and the neighboring Quick Settings panel and an ambitious series of added animations throughout the interface.

Pie will eventually include a new dashboard of "digital well-being" controlsintended to help with the ever-present challenge of balancing the digital and physical world. As of Pie's launch, that feature is available only for Pixel users as part of a limited beta program.

Here's also a short video discussion about Android Pie (before its name was officially unveiled on Aug. 6).