Author: Emil Protalinski / Source: VentureBeat
Google today launched the first Android P developer preview, available for download now at developer.android.com. The preview includes an updated SDK with system images for the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, and the official Android Emulator. Unlike last year, there is no emulator for testing Android Wear on Android P.
This is the third year running that Google has released the first developer preview of the next major Android version months before its I/O developer conference. The first developer previews of Android N (later named Android Nougat) and Android O (later named Android Oreo) arrived in March 2016 and March 2017, respectively. Last year, Google did not release the first developer preview via the Android Beta Program, which lets you get early Android builds via over-their-air updates on select devices. This stays the same with Android P — Google is making the first preview available solely by manual download and flash to emphasize it is for developers only and not intended for daily or consumer use.
Other than that, the same rules apply. This is an early look at the next version of Android, which is being referred to as Android P until Google picks a name starting with that letter.
The goal of the first preview is to let developers play with the build early so they can explore new features and APIs for apps, test for compatibility, and give feedback before more details are shared at I/O 2018, scheduled for May 8 to May 10. More new features and capabilities will be released in subsequent developer previews, and eventually enrollments will be taken through the Android Beta Program.
The preview schedule is as follows:
- March: Preview 1 (initial release, alpha)
- May: Preview 2 (incremental update, beta)
- June: Preview 3 (final APIs and official SDK, Play publishing, beta)
- June: Preview 4 (release candidate for testing)
- July: Preview 5 (release candidate for final testing)
- Q3: Final release to AOSP and ecosystem
If you want the short version, here are the highlights for the first Android P developer preview: built-in support for display cutouts (read: notches), a tweaked Quick Settings panel, notification drawer with rounded corners, messages in notifications when replying inline, smart replies in notifications, a consistent UI for fingerprint authentication, and privacy enhancements to limit what apps can do in the background.
Still not satisfied? Here is the longer version of all the new APIs and features (and there is more to come; this is just the first preview, after all):
- Display cutout support: Apps can now take full advantage of the latest device screens with full-screen content and APIs let you manage how your content is displayed, including checking the cutout shape and requesting full-screen layout around it. There’s even a developer option that simulates a cutout on any device.
- HDR VP9 Video, HEIF image compression, and Media APIs: Android P adds built-in support for HDR VP9 Profile 2, so you can deliver HDR-enabled movies to your users from YouTube, Play Movies, and other sources on HDR-capable devices. HEIF (heic) images encoding has been…
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