Android O Developer Preview 3 Rolls Out With Finalized APIs
Now three weeks removed from when the second Android O developer preview graduated to the beta branch, Google has made available a third preview build for early adopters and with it comes a series of finalized APIs. That is a big deal for developers, as it means they can code and enhance their apps with little-to-no tweaking required when Android O goes gold several weeks from now.
"With the consumer launch approaching in the coming months, a critical first step is making your current app compatible with Android O. This will give your users a seamless transition to the new platform as it arrives on their devices," Google stated in a blog post. The company also noted that its APIs have changed since the second developer preview, "so if you have existing code using Android O preview APIs, take a look at the diff report to see where your code might be affected."
Image Source: Google
Android O is steamrolling towards a public launch later this summer. In the meantime, Google says to expect one more preview update, which it plans to serve up in next month. Barring any setbacks, that will be the last developer preview before Android O goes live for everyone and will represent a near-final system image.
The release that is available for testing today is fairly polished, though not without bugs. Google warns of periodically slow and "janky" system and app performance, along with the risk of some devicefs occasionally becoming unresponsive with the second developer preview. The company also hinted at potential bit rot.
"These problems may become more acute with prolonged use," Google added.
Other potential quirks testers might run into include a slow launching camera, occasional audio stuttering when using Bluetooth, the inability to find available Wi-Fi networks, and docked apps becoming invisible in landscape mode on unlocked devices, to name a few.
"With the consumer launch approaching in the coming months, a critical first step is making your current app compatible with Android O. This will give your users a seamless transition to the new platform as it arrives on their devices," Google stated in a blog post. The company also noted that its APIs have changed since the second developer preview, "so if you have existing code using Android O preview APIs, take a look at the diff report to see where your code might be affected."
Image Source: Google
Android O is steamrolling towards a public launch later this summer. In the meantime, Google says to expect one more preview update, which it plans to serve up in next month. Barring any setbacks, that will be the last developer preview before Android O goes live for everyone and will represent a near-final system image.
The release that is available for testing today is fairly polished, though not without bugs. Google warns of periodically slow and "janky" system and app performance, along with the risk of some devicefs occasionally becoming unresponsive with the second developer preview. The company also hinted at potential bit rot.
"These problems may become more acute with prolonged use," Google added.
Other potential quirks testers might run into include a slow launching camera, occasional audio stuttering when using Bluetooth, the inability to find available Wi-Fi networks, and docked apps becoming invisible in landscape mode on unlocked devices, to name a few.
