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Android 8.1 Oreo Release Date, Beta, Features & Details

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Google’s confirmed the next version of Android Oreo and Android 8.1 should land for Pixel devices and select Nexus devices later this year.

The first major update to Google’s Android Oreo operating system is in the works. Android 8.1 Oreo missed the company’s Pixel 2 launch event in November, but Google’s confirmed a lengthy change log, an Android 8.1 Developer Preview for Nexus and Pixel devices, and the official Android 8.1 release window for Nexus and Pixel devices.

Now that Android 8.1 is confirmed we want to take you through a few things you need to know, right now, about Google’s first major Android Oreo update.

Will My Device Get Android 8.1 Oreo?

Google’s Android 8.1 Oreo update will be the first maintenance release for the operating system. Google designated it as MR1 in its announcement.

Devices like the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P are getting older, but it looks like all Nexus and Pixel devices running Android 8.0 Oreo will get the software.

The Android 8.1 Oreo update is confirmed for the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel C, Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL.

Android 8.1 Release Date

Last year, Google released its Android 7.1 Nougat update alongside its Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. Android 7.0 rolled out in August (like Android 8.0) and Android 7.1 rolled out in October with an Android 7.1.1 release in early December. Google’s doing things a bit differently this year.

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL arrived on October 19th and the official Android 8.1 release date will land sometime in December. The company hasn’t confirmed a specific date.

Google’s Android 8.1 release appears to be going as planned. The company recently released the Android 8.1 Developer Preview 2 and it still says it’s targeting a December release for the official software.

Rogers, a Canadian carrier, says Android 8.1 is coming soon though it hasn’t confirmed a specific date.

Android 8.1 Developer Preview

Google’s released its Android 8.1 Developer Preview giving Nexus and Pixel users a chance to try the software ahead of its public release.

Those interested in trying the Developer Preview can obtain it in one of two ways. You can enroll your device in automatic OTA system updates through Google’s Android Beta Program. This is the most straightforward way to get the Android 8.1 update on your Nexus or Pixel.

If you prefer to manually install software on your Pixel or Nexus, you can download the appropriate Android 8.1 Developer Preview system image and flash to your device.

Android 8.1 Update: What’s New

The update is in beta which means an official change log is out of reach. That said, we know quite a bit about the Android 8.1 update’s changes.

The current version of Android 8.1 Oreo includes several key improvements to Notifications and Autofill. Here’s the change log from the first developer preview:

Added Neural Networks API

The Neural Networks API (NNAPI) provides apps with hardware acceleration for on-device machine learning operations. The API supports on-device model creation, compilation, and execution. Apps typically do not use NNAPI directly; instead, NNAPI is meant to be called by machine learning libraries, frameworks, and tools that let developers train their models and deploy them on Android devices.

Changes to Notifications

Apps can now only make a notification alert sound once per second. Alert sounds that exceed this rate aren’t queued and are lost. This change doesn’t affect other aspects of notification behavior and notification messages still post as expected.

Improved Targeting for Low-RAM Devices

Android 8.1 (API level 27) adds two new hardware-feature constants, FEATURE_RAM_LOW and FEATURE_RAM_NORMAL, to Package Manager. These constants allow you target the distribution of your apps and APK splits to normal- or low-RAM devices.These constants enable the Play store to promote a better user experience by highlighting apps especially well-suited to the capabilities of a given device.

Autofill Framework Update

The Developer Preview adds support for custom descriptions that the Android System shows in the autofill save UI instead of the original representation of the data. This is useful, for example, when you want to mask a credit card number and show only the last four digits. To learn more, see the CustomDescription class.

Programmatic Safe Browsing Actions

By using the WebView implementation of the Safe Browsing API, your app can detect when an instance of WebView attempts to navigate to a URL that Google has classified as a known threat. By default, the WebView shows an interstitial, as shown in Figure 1, warning the user of the known threat and giving them the option to load the URL anyway or return to a previous page that’s safe.

Added WallpaperColors API

Android 8.1 Developer Preview (API level 27) adds support for managing wallpaper colors. This feature lets you create a WallpaperColors object from a bitmap, a drawable, or by using the first three most visually representative colors. You can also retrieve details of the first three noticeable colors of a wallpaper.

Fingerprint Updates

The FingerprintManager class has introduced the following error codes:

  • FINGERPRINT_ERROR_LOCKOUT_PERMANENT – The user has tried too many times to unlock their device using the fingerprint reader.
  • FINGERPRINT_ERROR_VENDOR – A vendor-specific fingerprint reader error occurred.

Beta testers have also discovered some additional changes including a colored nav bar in Settings that dims, a new power menu design, a new Oreo icon in System Notifications, and automatic dark and light themes. Google’s brought some of these features over from the Pixel 2.

Google recently released a second Android 8.1 beta and the Developer Preview 2 fixes several bugs and problems from the first release. Highlights include the activation of Pixel Visual Core for Pixel 2 devices and a new Hamburger emoji. The cheese is now in the right place.

Google says the final version of Android 8.1 will include new features, APIs (API level 27), and the company’s latest optimizations, bug fixes, and security updates.

December Android Oreo Update

Unless Android 8.1 arrives tomorrow, Nexus and Pixel users will get one more security patch before the Android 8.1 update arrives.

Google typically rolls out its monthly security patch on the first Monday of the month, but the December security patch will roll out on Tuesday, December 5th.

If you’re interested in the security patches coming to your Nexus or Pixel device this month, you can take a look at the full list of changes right here.

7 Things to Know About the December Nexus 5X Update

Nexus 5X December Update Impressions & Performance

Nexus 5X December Update Impressions & Performance

Before we get into an early look at the December Android 8.1 build's performance on the Nexus 5X, a few notes about the installation process. 

If you're currently running the latest Android 8.1 build, and we assume most of you are, it shouldn't take long to transition from the version you're currently running to the new build. It took us just a few minutes to get the software up and running on our Nexus 5X. 

We've been using the Nexus 5X's December Android 8.1 Oreo build for short time and the update is performing well in key areas including battery life, connectivity, and UI speed. 

We haven't noticed any major changes on our Nexus 5X since moving from the November build. That's a good thing. We didn't run into any major problems with last month's update.

Battery life continues to hold up nicely and we have yet to run into any horrible drain during our time on Android 8.1. If you do start to encounter battery life issues, take a look at our guide to fixing bad Android Oreo battery life.

We've been able to connect the Nexus 5X to multiple routers including eero mesh Wi-Fi. So far, the speeds are fast and reliable.

We've also successfully connected the Nexus 5X to several Bluetooth devices including headphones and speakers. 

The Nexus 5X in our possession feels pretty fast with the December build on board. It's still early, but animations and transitions are smooth and we haven't experienced any lag or general sluggishness. 

The December update feels stable on our version of the Nexus 5X. That said, if you're feeling leery, you should think about waiting for long-term feedback emerges. 

15 Comments

15 Comments

  1. Patmos Kumar

    09/08/2017 at 7:49 pm

    Why Google is not not giving updates continuously like Apple ? That’s why Apple is best because they always update their devices.

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