In late October, Google released the first developer preview of Android 8.1 Oreo for Nexus and Pixel devices. Now, a month later, Google has released the second developer preview of Android 8.1 Oreo for eligible Google devices. Well, this isn’t just the second developer preview of Android 8.1 Oreo, but, it’s also the last one, meaning the next update will be the final version of 8.1 Oreo.
The first developer preview of 8.1 Oreo came with Neural Networks API, changes to notification alerts, improved optimization and targeting for low-RAM devices, enhancements to Autofill framework and more. Well, the second developer preview comes with some enhancements to these along with fixes to some issues.
More importantly, this developer preview enables the Pixel Visual Core on second-gen Pixel which allows apps using Android Camera API to capture HDR+ Shots through Pixel Visual Core.
“Starting today we’re rolling out an update to the Android 8.1 developer preview, the last before the official launch to consumers in December. Android 8.1 adds targeted enhancements to the Oreo platform, including optimizations for Android Go (for devices with 1GB or less of memory) and a Neural Networks API to accelerate on-device machine intelligence. We’ve also included a few smaller enhancements to Oreo in response to user and developer feedback.” said Dave Burke, VP of Engineering, Google.
This developer preview 2 of Android 8.1 Oreo is available for Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel C, Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. If you are already on the first developer preview of 8.1 Oreo, you should receive the update to second developer preview soon. But, if you aren’t, you can enroll in the Beta Program from here and you will get the OTA on your device soon.
Having said that, if you can’t wait for the OTA, you also have the option to flash the update manually to your device using the Factory Image by heading over to the download link give below.
While the second and final developer preview of Android 8.1 Oreo is now released, the final version of 8.1 Oreo is slated to roll out to all the users next month.
Download Link: Factory Images
