Android O Developer Preview 4 Released, Final Version ‘Coming Soon’
Google today announced that Android O Developer Preview 4 is now rolling out to supported devices. Developer Preview 3 brought us finalized APIs, while Developer Preview 4 is being billed as a release candidate version of the operating system. Like the previous build, it also includes finalized system behaviors, along with the latest bug fixes and optimizations to ensure smooth performance on modern smartphone hardware.
“Today's Developer Preview 4 system images give you an excellent way to test your current apps on the near-final version of Android O,” writes Dave Burke, VP of Engineering. “By testing now, you can make sure your app offers the experience you want as users start to upgrade to the official Android O platform.”
There are a few ways to get the Android O Developer Preview. The quickest way is to download the latest system image, which can be obtained from Google’s dev site. The image files include a stable version of the Android 26.0.0 Support Library, while an updated version of the Android Testing Support Library will be provided very soon according to Google.
If you prefer the over-the-air (OTA) update process and are enrolled in the Android Beta Program, you’ll receive your update “in the next few days”.
The important takeaway from Google’s announcement today, however, is that the final release version of Android O is “coming soon”, which should be music to the ears of those running first-party Google hardware (i.e. Google Pixel, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, etc.). Although Google hasn’t provided a concrete date, Android O will be available in “late summer”.
