Android 7.1 Nougat Developer Preview coming late October, final release expected in December

The Google Pixel and Pixel XL are the first phones to ship with Android 7.1 Nougat and now Google has provided details of Android 7.1 Nougat availability for Nexus and other devices.

The search-giant has announced that Nougat's first maintenance update release, Android 7.1 will be available as a developer preview later this month to Pixel C tablet and select Nexus devices. Google says that Android 7.1 is an incremental update and builds on the strengths of Android 7.0, but add new features like Daydream support, A/B system update, app shortcut API for default launched and ability to use image keyboards.

What's in Android 7.1 Nougat

App shortcuts API — lets developers surface key actions directly in the launcher and take users deep into your app instantly. Can create up to 5 shortcuts, either statically or dynamically.
Circular app icons support — lets developers provide rounded icon resources that match the look of Pixel and other launchers.
Enhanced live wallpaper metadata — lets developers provide metadata about live wallpapers to any picker displaying the wallpapers as a preview. Show existing metadata such as label, description, and author, as well as a new context URL and title to link to more information.
Image keyboard support — expands the types of content that users can enter from their keyboards, letting them express themselves through custom stickers, animated gifs, and more. Apps can tell the keyboard what types of content they accept, and keyboards can deliver all of the images and other content that they offer to the user. For broad compatibility, this API will also be available in the support library.
Storage manager Intent — lets an app take the user directly to a new Settings screen to clear unused files and free up storage space on the device.
APIs to support multi-endpoint calling and new telephony configuration options.
Optimizations and bug fixes and new APIs (API level 25)

The Android 7.1 Nougat Developer Preview will be released only for the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P and Pixel towards the end of the month. Other device will be added to the preview program as it progresses. Interested users can join Android Beta Program and get the 7.1 Nougat Preview via OTA.

The final release will be available in early December and will include all devices such as Nexus 6, Nexus 9, Nexus Player and select Android One device, that were included in the wider Nougat roll out.

As for non-Google devices, the company said that it is working closely with deice makers to get them ready for Android 7.1. As of now it is not clear if OEMs will skip Android 7.0 for Android 7.1.

Source | Via

Kaiser Bey

Kaiser is a tech enthusiast who likes to write, read and talk about tech. He dreams of going to Mars and never come back. We hope that you find his posts on AndroGuider helpful and informative