Google surprised everyone on Wednesday by releasing the Android N Developer Preview significantly earlier than expected. The Android N Developer preview offers a look at new features which will be available in the next Android build including multi-window support, brand new notification shade, notification enhancements, and more.
(Also see: How to Install Android N Developer Preview)
Google however stresses that "Android N is still in active development." Dave Burke, VP of Engineering (Android), in a blog post announced the availability of developer preview and said the motive of releasing a "work in progress" build earlier in the development cycle was to give Google more time to "incorporate developer feedback."
Hiroshi Lockheimer, SVP Android, Chromecast, and Chrome OS at Google, in a Medium post confirmed that the company plans to "hand off" the final Android N release to device makers this summer, anticipated to be after Google I/O 2016 - which kicks off May 22. Additionally, Google is offering enthusiasts the chance to stay up-to-date with the latest pre-release builds of Android through the new Android Beta Program, which will deliver updates over-the-air.
Lockheimer said that starting Wednesday, the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, General Mobile 4GAndroid One, Nexus Player, Nexus 9, and Pixel C devices can update to the developer preview of N via an OTA by visiting the Android Beta Program site and enrolling themselves. Alternatively, users can flash the Android N Developer Preview factory images for the aforementioned eligible devices.
For developers, Google is also offering a $150 discount on Pixel C tablet to try out the new features on a tablet. Burke in his post added that the initial preview release is intended only for developers and is not for daily use or consumer use. The company will be updating the Android N Developer Preview system images often "during the Developer Preview program". Burke adds that as the final build release will near, Google will invite consumers to try the new Android N.
Notably, the official developer site has a timeline fixed for the Android N release and it says that the N Developer Preview will run from March 9 until the final Android N public build will be released to AOSP and OEMs, which is planned for Q3 2016.
As expected, Google will not be revealing the Android N name for now. "We're nut tellin' you yet," said Lockheimer. The SVP is almost definitely hinting at N standing for Nutella, the popular hazelnut spread, though of course, he could be purposely misdirecting users. Here are biggest changes to Android that Google has introduced with Android N.
No comments:
Post a Comment