Huawei EMUI 8.0 (Android Oreo) OS: Here are its top new features

EMUI 8.0 is the latest custom ROM from Huawei that will be available on select Honor handsets.

Honor 9 Lite will launch with EMUI 8.0 based on Android Oreo (Huawei)

Huawei last week unveiled its latest custom UI, EMUI 8.0. Based on Google's newest Android Oreo operating system, EMUI 8.0 is already available on HonorView 10, and will be rolled out to select Honor handsets, including the upcoming Honor 9 Lite.

Huawei highlights artificial intelligence (AI) as EMUI 8.0's the biggest highlight. The company claims the AI on EMUI 8.0 can identify different objects such as flower, plant, food, performance, text, among others.

Compared to the previous EMUI 5.1, there's no striking difference in terms overall look and feel of the UI. But there appears to be plenty of under the hood changes and has some nifty features with the new UI. We have been using EMUI 8.0 on the upcoming Honor 9 Lite for couple of days and here are the new features.

Gesture controls

EMUI 8.0 has a cool little trick to take screenshots. You can simply slide down three fingers to take a screenshot. After you take a screenshot, there will be a popup screen with options to share, edit, and take a scrolling screenshot. You will need to enable this feature which can be found in the Settings menu under 'Smart Assistance'.

One-handed mode on EMUI 8.0 is also pretty cool. To launch this feature, you will need to swipe down and form a small curve from the left and right side. You can continue using the phone normally in the small screen. To go back to normal mode, just tap on the outer screen. This feature too can be enabled and disabled from Smart Assistance.

Floating navigation dock on EMUI 8.0 (HT Photo)

Floating navigation dock on EMUI 8.0 (HT Photo)

Floating Navigation Dock

To use this feature, you will need to first turn it on by going to Settings > Smart Assistance > System Navigation. You will then see a white button on the screen which is the floating navigation dock. It looks similar to Apple's Assistive Touch, but the functions are different. Pressing on the navigation dock and pulling it left or right will launch the recent apps tab. Tapping on it once will take you back to the previous. And pressing on it and releasing it will take you back to the Home screen. You can also drag the navigation dock around the screen.

Built-in LinkedIn

Professional social networking hub LinkedIn comes built-in on EMUI 8.0. This feature will reflect on your contact list. You will find LinkedIn information on your contact list such as email address, company, position, and more.

Battery launch on EMUI 8.0 (HT Photo)

Battery launch on EMUI 8.0 (HT Photo)

Battery launch

There's a battery saving feature on EMUI 8.0 located as 'Launch' in the Settings menu. This feature allows you to optimize battery usage for each app on your smartphone. You can either choose to manage battery usage automatically or manually. You can toggle on/off three options for an app to auto launch, secondary launch, or run in the background.

Dynamic Wallpaper

Huawei already has a dedicated theme app which lets users customize wallpapers and more. In EMUI 8.0, Huawei has something called 'Dynamic Wallpaper'. The wallpaper, more specifically of an outdoor landscape will change its texture as the day goes by. For example, in the morning the wallpaper will show sunrise and in the evening it will show sunset.