Google releases Android 7.1.1 for Pixel and Nexus devices

Google has released the 7.1.1 version of Android Nougat. It includes some new features, including App Shortcuts, in addition to optimizations and bug fixes. The Pixel and recent Nexus devices, among others, receive the new version in the form of an ota update.

Google writes that the Nexus 6, 5X, 6P and 9 will receive the update in the coming weeks, in addition to the Pixel C, the Nexus Player and the Android One device from General Mobile. The company has made the factory images and the ota files available. Beta users will receive the update automatically.

With the update, Nexus devices gain access to features already available on Pixel devices, including custom emoji and a gif keyboard that allows users to send images directly from Allo, Hangouts, and Messenger.

In addition, the 7.1.1 version includes the ‘App Shotcuts’ feature, which was previously featured in a Developer Preview. This allows a user to press and hold an app icon longer to see additional shortcuts. The Maps app then shows, for example, the option to navigate to a saved location.

Google released another update for the Pixel phones at the end of November. This made the functions double-tap-to-wake and raise-to-wake available, among other things. Double-tap-to-wake lets users wake up the phone by tapping the screen twice, while raise-to-wake shows notifications when users lift the device.