14 DAY TRIAL // Google has announced and released the Android 8.1 Developer Preview, and it looks like it brings a lot of interesting new features.
As usual, the point of the Developer Preview is to prepare the people who built the apps for this ecosystem to be ready for the official launch, which is expected to occur in December. But this also means that users will get the chance to try out some of the new features that are planned for the 8.1 upgrade if they are willing to pay the price.
Since 8.1 Developer Preview is not a stable release, users might have problems with the new version, meaning that it can cause crashes, app incompatibility, and who knows what else. In fact, this is one of the reasons for the Preview, to find out what’s wrong and to fix it.
So much new stuff
Unlike the regular updates that we receive on Android, the 8.1 version is a major one. It brings a lot of stuff that’s under the hood, and that’s aimed at developers, but that doesn’t mean that regular people can’t find something interesting.
For example, Android 8.1 Developer Preview finally brings Bluetooth battery level, which is the kind of feature you would think it should have been made available a long time ago. The icon with the Bluetooth connectivity has also been changed to show the battery level on compatible devices.
Another cool feature added in Android 8.1, although not aimed at regular users, is a Neural Networks API that will enable developers to finally bring proper machine intelligence to the operating system.
Also, the Autofill framework has been enhanced so that it works with even more services. This means that it’s going to be a lot easier for users to save passwords for their apps, and store them in the Google cloud.
Users should also notice that now only one notification sound per second is permitted. Furthermore, if a notification sound doesn’t respect this new rule it will be ignored, and it will not play.
Android 8.1 also brings the white and dark themes to the other devices that are supported by the update, and are no longer exclusive to the Pixel 2 devices.
The last one on the list that’s visible to regular users are the upgrades made to the fingerprint API, which will provide more details about errors thrown by this particular feature.
How to get Android 8.1 Developers Preview
Getting the latest version of Android is very easy, but it does have a couple of drawbacks. First of all, it’s not a stable release and users might experience crashes and other problems. Secondly, once you enroll in the Android Beta program, you won’t be able to return to the regular build without resetting the phone.
With that being said, just head on the Android Beta website, enroll in the program and wait for the OTA update, which should arrive very quickly. It’s not small update, and the process will take a while.
