Google has released the third Developer Preview of the upcoming Android O mobile operating platform. Touted for developers, the latest preview build confirms the imminent arrival of Android 8.0. The search engine giant had concealed the exact version number when the most recent Android version was released initially in early 2017.
The developer preview 3 consists of the final API level 26. The company is gearing up to release another build by the end of July, which will ship with the final system images. While the total capacity of the Android Nougat averages to 1.5GB in size, you can expect the new Android platform to occupy more than 2GB since the product team will likely integrate several features and improvements.
According to Dave Burke, Vice President - Engineering, Google, the developer preview 3 includes the latest version of the forthcoming Android with the final API level 26. Moreover, the release also comes with several bug fixes, enhancements, and optimizations. If you install the latest preview, your device will function with increased stability.
How to download Android O?
To download Android O Developer Preview 3 build, you need to register in the Android Beta Program. If you have access to an eligible device, you will be able to install the new release. As of this writing, you can install the latest preview in Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus Player, and Pixel C.
As a developer, you can download the API 26 SDK from the Android Studio SDK Manager and Android Support Library 26.0.0 beta 2 from Google's Maven repository.
The Android Police team managed to install the preview 3 on Nexus 6P, and they found the version as Android 8.0.0 upon hitting the Settings icon.
Rumored features
In addition to notification channels, the Android O also ships with features such as background limits, picture-in-picture video, adaptive icons, standard autofill APIs including multi-display support.
If you have an eligible Google smartphone, you can register for the Android Beta program to test drive the latest developer preview. You can also manually download and flash the update.
The first developer preview of the Android Nougat successor was launched in March, but Google discontinued it. A second build was made available at the recently concluded Google I/O 2017.
Going by the trend, you can expect the release of one build every month until the roll out of the final Android O release.
Interestingly, in Android terminology, there is no final build for a particular platform. Google will continue to push updates even after the final release. If you would like to experience the taste of a full-blown Android O in a new smartphone, you need to wait until October 2017 when Google Pixel 2 will be unveiled.
