Preview 2 - Noticing Things

[anon(8085328)]

Installed M Preview 2 on my Nexus 5 this morning -- was running the original M preview (1). Here are some things that I'm noticing:

1) (Obviously) Google Now Launcher app drawer is now 4 apps wide (was 3), removed the letter categories on the left-hand side, and utilizes the Google search bar space on the launcher home screen to search for apps. The launcher also reorients when in landscape mode

2) Google Now on Tap is apparently working now, but I've yet to find a case where it shows you info cards on the screen as demoed at I/O instead of just launching you into the Google Now "side-swipe-to-access" section
a. Go into Google Now > Settings > Now cards > Now on Tap

3) They removed theme options, which means NO MORE DARK MODE D':

4) There's a new Memory settings menu section to view RAM usage

5) You can edit what shows up in the Status bar (cell, wifi, etc. icons), show the battery percentage inside of the battery icon, as well as enable a "Demo mode" to make the status bar icons and time static.
a. Go to Developer Options > Enable "Show SystemUI Tuner" > Back to main settings menu > System UI Tuner

6) FIXED: Camera images no longer inverted in photo apps like Snapchat, Instagram, etc.

7) Known apps that don't work: Snapchat v 9.11.0.0 (v 9.10 still works), Venmo (also didn't work in Preview 1)

 

[jenks5150]

Thank you for the quick rundown - downloading it now. Particularly happy to see #6 on your list. Everyone thinks Snapchat is super trivial until every photo you take gets turned upside down and rendered more or less unusable - ragequit-worthy.

 

[bkircher]

Does this build seem to be any more stable this time around?? I was running it on my nexus 6 when preview 1 came out but found it to be to buggy for my taste. Really want to install preview 2.

 

[jkarwow]

Just updated Nexus 9 OTA so far appears faster.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Kevin Harvell]

Just finished installing on my Nexus 5, so it will be a it before I can comment on things that are, or are not working.

One thing I know is working now, is the Straw polling app. Would only white screen then go back to whatever screen I was launching it from.

 

[Bob Nicholsen]

Just flashed 2 via wugfresh. Seems a little snappier. New features added in system tuner menu. Also battery meter now added.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[anon(257429)]

Its faster but the battery life is not what it use to be whatsoever. I think doze mode is broken or disabled on this build.

 

[fz553]

Line doesn't work with this preview. Immediately ends call when trying to call someone.

 

[fz553]

Its faster but the battery life is not what it use to be whatsoever. I think doze mode is broken or disabled on this build.

That's what I noticed too. Battery life has taken a significant hit. Doze isn't working as well as on the first preview.

 

[jaltman]

Previously when logging to wifi on through a captive portal that used an untrusted security certificate, there was no way to proceed any way. Now it allows you to re-direct to the browser and complete the login process.

Nice.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[maj71303]

That's what I noticed too. Battery life has taken a significant hit. Doze isn't working as well as on the first preview.

I agree that battery life is worst than the first preview. Hopefully Google doesn't screw M up like lollipop. I know it just preview 2 but Google seems to lost it's focus on it's OS since KitKat was released. Instead of trying to do it all maybe they need to cut back on all these features and focus on fine-tuning Android to run efficient and not be such a hog now as they have made it.

 

[ram1220]

I agree that battery life is worst than the first preview. Hopefully Google doesn't screw M up like lollipop. I know it just preview 2 but Google seems to lost it's focus on it's OS since KitKat was released. Instead of trying to do it all maybe they need to cut back on all these features and focus on fine-tuning Android to run efficient and not be such a hog now as they have made it.

I agree. A year ago I would never even think of looking at an Apple product. But my contract with Sprint and my M7 expires in October. I already know I am dumping Sprint due to their crappy network. But I am now thinking of switching to an iphone. Just don't like the way Android is headed.

 

[anon(8085328)]

I definitely agree that something isn't quite right with Doze.

I've noticed that Google Play Services are running like crazy, oftentimes consuming up to 25% of my phone's battery life in a given charge cycle. Phone usage during this time includes some texting, light web browsing, reading a few emails, and listening to music (on device, not streaming).

The packages that are cited as running are: google Service Framework, Google Account Manager, Google Play services, and Google Backup Transport.

Is anyone else seeing this issue?

 

[maj71303]

IMO this constant Google services is the main problem with why android runs like a dog and is a hot mess. All this pinging for information, location, and feedback is unnecessary in the sense that their are other ways for google to data mine. Each new release is slowly but surely proving apple's criticisms of Google right as this constant data mining makes for a poor user experience and googles own services is to blame for a lot of android phones performance problems.