Nougat / Android 7.0 on your Nexus 5X ... Thoughts and Tips

[eaccentsac]

Signed up for the Android Beta program yesterday to get Nougat 7.0 on my 5X. Installed it last night.

Haven't had it long enough to form any real opinions, but my initial impressions are:

I really wish there was a dark mode--there is a LOT of white in the menus!

trying to get used to--and decide if I even like--the new way the notifications are bundled in the 2-finger pull down screen

as a moderate user, I've never had an issue with battery life, but am still hopeful that we'll see a noticeable increase in battery performance with this latest Android version (never hurts to have better battery life!)

there are some interesting additions to the system menus--hoping to have more time later this week to explore the new options​

For those of you have Nougat as well, any thoughts, suggestions, or tips (especially from those who've had it for a while now)?

 

[ptkelly]

Use it for a few days and come back.

Me? I like it a lot. I like being able to respond to notifications without going to the app. I like the better Doze. I don't use the split screen but I suspect some do. For me, Android 7 is faster, snappier. I don't understand the "dark mode" contingent but they are persistent. But, I've never had a problem with "lag" and I've haven't had a problem with apps draining my battery since Android 5.

 

[eaccentsac]

Use it for a few days and come back.

Me? I like it a lot. I like being able to respond to notifications without going to the app. I like the better Doze. I don't use the split screen but I suspect some do. For me, Android 7 is faster, snappier. I don't understand the "dark mode" contingent but they are persistent. But, I've never had a problem with "lag" and I've haven't had a problem with apps draining my battery since Android 5.

Oh yeah, I definitely will comment again once I've used it for a bit longer.

I don't think that I'm going to try the split screen feature...the 5X screen just isn't big enough for that (and frankly, I'm glad since I went for the 5X BECAUSE it was closer to the 5-5.2" sweet spot that just works the best for my one-handed [typical] usage, my pockets, etc).

I thought this was a cool article and gave me some good tips on things to try....

Thanks for weighing in. Looking forward to more comments!

 

[ptkelly]

Thanks for the link to the article. It reminds me of some things I set and forgot. I did fill in my emergency information for,,,you know...emergencies. And, being older than most trees I made my screen and fond larger.

All things considered, I like Android 7 a lot. I'm sure the group who want to go back to KitKat will still be with us but Android 7 is good.

 

[eaccentsac]

Thanks for the link to the article. It reminds me of some things I set and forgot. I did fill in my emergency information for,,,you know...emergencies. And, being older than most trees I made my screen and fond larger.

All things considered, I like Android 7 a lot. I'm sure the group who want to go back to KitKat will still be with us but Android 7 is good.

Hehe. Very funny.

I'm in the process of doing both those things right now!

 

[Greatsrj23]

I like the notification. It's nice replying to a text that way and I like how it looks. It's not anything special it's just a nice change. I also like the hot buttons at the top so we don't have to pull down the notification bar again for them. I've already used multi window so I think that will become more and more useful. I've been using my phone a little more than usual so I can't comment on Doze just yet.

I've been trying to change things like the wallpaper and sounds just to make it feel new and different since there aren't really any new changes to the look.

I do wish there was an option for dark mode. I don't get why they have it in the beta's but not official release.

 

[dby2011]

The biggest thing about N and the 5x is it totally eliminates the laggy reputation of the phone now.

 

[eaccentsac]

I like the notification. It's nice replying to a text that way and I like how it looks. It's not anything special it's just a nice change. I also like the hot buttons at the top so we don't have to pull down the notification bar again for them. I've already used multi window so I think that will become more and more useful. I've been using my phone a little more than usual so I can't comment on Doze just yet.

I've been trying to change things like the wallpaper and sounds just to make it feel new and different since there aren't really any new changes to the look.

I do wish there was an option for dark mode. I don't get why they have it in the beta's but not official release.

I agree: am liking the hot buttons on the top of the pull down notification screen as well. Puts all the most useful toggles right where you need them (and since the quick settings tiles are customizable, this applies to everyone).

So far, I think the new Doze is working....I'm at least 10% higher in my battery level than normal at this time of day.

 

[eaccentsac]

The biggest thing about N and the 5x is it totally eliminates the laggy reputation of the phone now.

This is great news! ... Even though I never felt that I experienced this issue

 

[optimummind]

My favorite "feature" of android 7.0 so far is that now the swipe down for notification gesture works correctly in Novalauncher.

 

[ptkelly]

This is great news! ... Even though I never felt that I experienced this issue

Me, neither. But, I don't play games and I don't have social media apps running in the background.

 

[Ruben_915]

I really like that we can change the size of objects on the screen as a whole, not just the text. I like using small text, and have everything scaled down to the smallest it allows. It makes the 5X screen seen bigger. It is definitely a lot smoother, even though it was already smooth.

Another thing is I downloaded straight from M, so the update size was about 1200mb but after the download, the storage memory had 3gb more free. Was the last version really using an extra 3gb of memory?

 

[dgrobe2112]

How do you change the size of other items on the screen

 

[Davulsukur]

Might join the beta preview when I get home and download this. No idea how long it will take for the OTA update to be released on O2, Nexus 5x here in the UK. Might as well give it as go.

 

[prlundberg]

Has anybody NOT in the beta program gotten it yet?

 

[eaccentsac]

The biggest thing about N and the 5x is it totally eliminates the laggy reputation of the phone now.

Strangely enough, I'm now seeing a bit of lag. LOL.

UPDATE: no lag in safe mode (Wow! Wicked FAST!), so guessing I've got an app or a few apps that aren't ready for Nougat. Sigh. Oh well, not entirely unexpected.

 

[eaccentsac]

How do you change the size of other items on the screen

Settings>>>Display>>>Display Size (NOT the Font option)

 

[eaccentsac]

My favorite "feature" of android 7.0 so far is that now the swipe down for notification gesture works correctly in Novalauncher.

OMG! Yessssssss!

I'm sure I would have noticed eventually, but THANK YOU for pointing this out!

 

[eaccentsac]

STORAGE: I've noticed that the same number of apps now take up less space on the device. Woo hoo!

 

[dgrobe2112]

I'm liking it sofar. Only one day in.. also. If you use Tapatalk. It works better than before.