Android M Developer Preview 2 Available For Nexus Devices

by Brandon Hill — Friday, July 10, 2015, 03:30 PM EDT

The highly anticipated Android M mobile operating system will begin [most likely slowly if previous releases are any indication] making its way to devices this fall. We’ll first start seeing new devices preloaded with Android M (like the next generation Nexus smartphone, which is reportedly being developed in conjunction with Huawei) and later as an upgrade for existing Lollipop devices.

Until that time arrives, only developers have access to Android M, and up until this week, they were running the same “tired old” build Developer Preview build that was released in late May. Thankfully, Google yesterday released Android M Developer Preview 2 which brings a wealth of updates to the operating system.

The changes center around three key areas: Android Platform, API, and issues pointed out by observant developers. Android Platform updates include modifications to permissions for external storage, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth location reporting, and contacts (just to name a few). API changes include updates to the Bluetooth Stylus API and the Media API.

Something that has unfortunately been removed from Developer Preview 2 is the Dark System Theme. Google introduced this feature with the first developer preview and it was well-received. According to some reports, the Dark System Theme likely wasn’t ready for prime time in these early test builds, and will likely find its way into the final release of Android M.

Google says that devices that already have the first developer preview installed (including the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player) can upgrade immediately to Android M Developer Preview 2 over-the-air (OTA). All other devices currently running the the first developer preview, such as these Xperia models from Sony, will receive OTA updates over the next few days.

Tags: Android, Google, Nexus, (nasdaq:goog), android m

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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