The images are available for Nexus smartphones

Aug 23, 2016 15:58 GMT  ·  By

Google started the roll out of Android 7.0 Nougat final version yesterday and it's expected to arrive to smartphones in the coming weeks. However, users who don't wish to wait until the update hits their phones, can go over to Android developers website and get factory images.

The factory images are available for Nexus smartphones, like Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, Nexus Player and Pixel C. In the next period of time, Google will also provide factory images for Android One and Nexus 9 LTE.

Google provided download links to the same OTAs that will be rolling soon for smartphone owners that already have the Android Developer Preview 4, but want a faster update.

Flashing a factory image to a device means that all data will be wiped so users should take that into consideration before starting the process. Users should back data to their Google Account and keep in mind that apps and all associated data will be uninstalled.

With Android 7.0 Nougat, Google launched seamless updates that would download and install in the background. This means that users no longer need to restart their phones every time they receive an update on their Nexus devices. This would mean that updates will be made faster and in a seamless way.

Another neat thing about Nougat is that it will be receiving quarterly maintenance updates and developer previews will also be released, the next one to come with fall.