It's Monday, which means Google is releasing another version of the Android O Developer Preview.
The fourth issue is the last, cleaning up any remaining bugs and allowing Google to now move forward to the final release, which, according to the post on the Android Developer Blog, is imminent.
As we put the finishing touches on the Android O platform, today we're rolling out Developer Preview 4 to help you make sure your apps are ready.This is the final preview before we launch the official Android O platform to consumers later this summer. Take this opportunity to wrap up your testing and publish your updates soon, to give users a smooth transition to Android O.
According to Google, Developer Preview 4 is a "release candidate," meaning that despite it still being aimed at developers, early adopters and beta testers should feel comfortable loading it on a production device. It is available for Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus Player, Pixel C, and Android Emulator.
Google released final Android O APIs in the previous Developer Preview, so it is encouraging developers to test their apps against these mature hooks to make sure that, when Android O is publicly released in the next few weeks, apps take advantage of new features like notification channels, background location limits and an improved implementation of Doze.
The fourth beta also introduces a bunch of new developer tools. Google again:
We're releasing the Developer Preview 4 device system images today, together with the stable version of the Android 26.0.0 Support Library. Incremental updates to the SDK, tools, and Android Emulator system images are on the way over the next few days.We're also introducing a new version of Android Testing Support Library that includes new features like Android Test Orchestrator, Multiprocess Espresso, and more. Watch for details coming soon.
If you're not a developer, you can always install the final preview using the Android Beta program. If you're already in the beta, you'll get an over-the-air update "in the next few days," according to Google. Don't want to wait? Follow the link below.
How to get the Android O beta 4 on your device right now
We still don't know what Android O will be called, but we're holding out hope for some delicious news this week!
