Google's Android P supports same HEIC format as Apple, has software display notch like iPhone X

Google on Wednesday revealed a slew of details about the next version of Android, codenamed Android P, including a pair of features following in Apple's footsteps.

Most significantly, devices running Android P will support the same HEIC version of the High Efficiency Image Format (HEIF). HEIC files are roughly half the size of JPEGs, an important achievement given the growing size of both apps and camera resolutions.

HEIC files can include several photos, or even short videos, though Apple doesn't use the format for iOS's Live Photos.

Android P will also natively support devices with edge-to-edge displays interrupted by an iPhone X-style notch, which Google refers to as a display cutout. A number of Android devices — such as the Essential Phone — already make use of notches, but until now vendors have had to customize Android accordingly.

In development, app creators can simulate "narrow," "tall," or "wide" cutouts, letting them know where to avoid displaying content.

Android P is now available in preview form, but the final version won't reach the public for several months and even then, only to a very limited amount of devices. The most recent publicly released version of Android, "Oreo," has approximately 1.2 percent adoption, according to Google itself.