Android 9.0 Pie is rolling out right now to the Essential Phone

When Google releases new versions of Android, the conversation quickly switches over to fragmentation and how smartphone owners will likely not see the update for weeks, months, or even a year. But with Android 9.0 Pie, Essential has proven that this doesn’t necessarily need to be the case as the company is already rolling out the firmware update to the Essential Phone.

Throughout the entire Android P Beta Program, Essential has done a great job at rolling out updates within hours of Google releasing them. While other smartphone manufacturers in the program typically got updates out within several days, Essential was always on top of things.

Once Android Pie is installed on the Essential Phone, users will notice several changes. These include an adaptive battery feature, a new gesture-based navigation option, a new Material theme in the quick settings and settings menu, and much more.

Unfortunately, Essential has had several financial setbacks as of late, and the future of the company is unclear. While Essential has stopped working on a second smartphone, it’s clear that the company is keeping its focus on making its current customers happy.

If you have an Essential Phone, head into the Settings menu and search for an update. The company didn’t release any timetable, but users should start seeing the option to update to Android Pie sometime today.

For those upgrading from Android 8.0 Oreo to Android 9.0 Pie on an existing device, the new gesture navigation system isn't necessarily turned on by default(it does automatically turn on for the Essential Phone). To turn the controls on, go to Settings > System > Gestures. Then, Tap on Swipe on Home Button and toggle the feature on.  The icons will then switch from three-button navigation to a pill-shaped icon. To turn off gestures navigation, follow the same steps to toggle the feature off.

EK Chung, user experience manager for Android handheld and Pixel at Google, confirmed to Android Central that future Google devices will ship with gesture-only navigation. That means we'll most likely see the feature automatically turned on with the Google Pixel 3 -- the company's next flagship expected to launch in October.

Even though the home button is now a pill-shaped icon, it still works similarly to the old circle. Tap on it to go to the home screen, and long press will launch Google Assistant.

When in an app, a back arrow ell automatically appear to the left of the home button, just like the old navigation system. Tap on it to go back to what was being viewed previously. It disappears on the home screen.

To open Recent apps, a short swipe up from the bottom of the screen is all you need. A carousel gallery will appear showing recently-opened apps, and you can scroll through left and right Dragging the pill-shaped home all way to the right enables a slider that automatically tarts scrolling though the apps. Once the desired apps is in the center, release the button to open it.

To clear a specific app, swipe up on the specific app window. Scroll all the way to the left window and tap Clear all to exit apps simultaneously.

So, pie is delicious, whether it's apple, blueberry, pumpkin or its a new android version.