Android O 8.0

Android O Developer Preview 3 Released; Confirms Android Version 8.0

Google released Developer Preview 3 build for eligible devices
Another Android O preview build expected in July 
Android O will be version 8.0
Google on Thursday released the third developer preview build of Android O for developers. The latest preview confirmed the Android version to be Android 8.0. When Android O was announced, the version number had been kept under wraps, and has only been revealed now.

The company dropped the first developer preview build of the next major Android release in March, and the second developer preview was out at I/O 2017 last month. The company on Thursday released Developer Preview 3 with the final Android O APIs. Google has said that there will be another released in July which will bring "near-final system images."

The new Developer Preview 3 build will be rolling out to eligible users who are already enrolled in the Android Beta Program. The compatible devices include the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, and Nexus Player. Dave Burke, VP of Engineering, announced the release of Developer Preview 3 in a blog post.

Google says that the latest preview build includes the latest version of the Android O platform with the final API level 26 and hundreds of bug fixes and optimisations. Developers can download the final API 26 SDK from the SDK Manager in Android Studio, and Android Support Library 26.0.0 beta 2 from Google's Maven repository. Google, once again, teases that the consumer launch of the latest Android O version is "approaching in the coming months."Android Police reported the version first and notes that the settings page on their Nexus 6P showed Android 8.0.0 as the exact version.

While the above mentioned features are being rolled out with the first build, there will be many more added in the course of time, as the final release won't happen any time before Q3 2017. Google has also revealed plans for further developer preview releases. Android O Developer Preview 2 will be released in May, Developer Preview 3 will be released in June with final APIs, and Developer Preview 4 will be released in July. The final release will be in the third quarter.


Android O features in Developer Preview 1 : For now, Android O Developer Preview 1 brings background limits, which means apps running in the background will be more strictly controlled resulting into battery life efficiency.

Android O Notification Channels : Notification Channels feature lets the users control app's notification categories. It lets developers give users fine-grained control over different kinds of notifications - users can block or change the behaviour of each channel individually, rather than managing all of the app's notifications together. Android O also adds new visuals and grouping to notifications that make it easier for users to see what's going on when they have an incoming message or are glancing at the notification shade.

Android O Autofill APIs : Another big change is autofill APIs which essentially brings platform support for autofill. This means that the service will work across ecosystem by just selecting an autofill app, similar to the way they select a keyboard app. The autofill app stores and secures user data, such as addresses, user names, and even passwords. For apps that want to handle autofill, Google has also added new APIs to implement an Autofill service.

Other Android 0 features : As leaked earlier, Android O also brings picture in picture video support, along with a new app overlay window for apps to use instead of system alert window, and multi-display support for launching an activity on a remote display. Support for adaptive icons that change every day, and also support for animated icons, has been added. Apart from this there are several other developer-friendly features added, and you can read about them in detail on Google's blog post




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