Google outs Android 8.1 Oreo Developer Preview for Pixel and Nexus devices

Google has released a new version of Android Oreo in the form of Android 8.1 Oreo. It is now available as a developer preview for Pixel and Nexus devices, and brings a number of under-the-hood changes, as well as couple of new features.

Google has also made factory images as well as OTA update files of Android 8.1 Developer Preview for compatible devices such as Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P and Pixel C. 

You can either flash these files manually to the compatible device or enroll in Android beta program and wait for OTA update to automatically reach your device. The final release of the Android 8.1 will be available in December.

The new update to Android Oreo includes a set of targeted enhancements including optimizations for Android Go (devices with 1GB or less RAM), and new Neural Networks API to accelerate on-device machine intelligence. It also includes enhancement to Oreo such as Autofill enhancements and shared memory API based on user and developer feed back.

Android 8.1 also adds Bluetooth battery level indicator in Quick Setting, new Power Menu and automatic light and dark themes on all devices, which were earlier available on the new Pixel 2 phones.

It will also allow apps to make only one notification alert sound per second, and alert sounds that exceed this rate aren't queued and are lost.

It also brings revamped settings menu that now includes a search bar and a new Oreo Easter egg, that replaces Android 8.0 Oreo's circular orange stuff. However, the 'Keep WiFi on during sleep' option has been removed in the new Android version.

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