The official Android O release is slated to be rolled out later this summer. Before this can occur though, the Android team is releasing the Developer Preview 4 to Android developers for testing their apps.
Android developers with already enrolled devices will receive a Developer Preview 4 update in a few days. Otherwise developers can enroll their devices at the Android Beta site and will receive the update. The eligible devices are Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, and the Android Emulator.
The Developer Preview 4 update “includes the final system behaviors, the latest bug fixes and optimizations, and the final APIs (API level 26) .” The release also includes device system images, Android 26.0.0 Support Library, and incremental updates for the SDK, tools, and Android Emulator system images. An advanced version of the Android Testing Support Library includes the Android Test Orchestrator and Multiprocess Espresso.
The new “Android O features can help you drive engagement with users, offer new interactions, give them more control and security, and improve performance.” For example, the introduction of “adaptive icons, downloadable fonts, and autosizing TextView can simplify your development and minimize your APK size.”
Android Studio 3.0 is recommended for developers to fully realize the powerful features available in Android O with “improved app performance profiling tools, support for the Kotlin programming language, and Gradle build optimizations” as part of the package. Android also recommends updating to “Android Support Library 26.0.0, available now from Google’s Maven repository, and to the latest SDK, tools, and emulator system images.”
For more information, visit the Android Developer Preview 4 .
