Google Releases Android 8.1 Oreo Developer Preview 2

BY Evan Selleck

Published 27 Nov 2017

Android Oreo

It’s been a few weeks since Google released the first developer preview for Android 8.1 Oreo, and now there’s new software to developers to try out.

Google today officially released the second developer preview of Android 8.1 Oreo to registered developers. The pre-release software is available for the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, the Pixel C, the Nexus 5X, and the Nexus 6P.

And for those who are part of the Android Beta Program, Google notes that the new software will be available for you in the coming days for the aforementioned handsets.

Google plans on launching the Android 8.1 Oreo update to the public sometime in December. As such, this will be the final developer preview for the mobile operating system ahead of that launch.

As for what’s new, the Pixel Visual Core will be switched on. That means that developers who have access to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL’s cameras will be able to unlock the full HDR+ functionality of those handsets. That functionality that is baked into the standard camera app on those devices will now expand to third-party app support.

The new developer preview is available now, so if you’re a registered developer you should be able to get started with the new software right now. Android Beta Program users will have to wait a bit longer to try out the pre-release software, but it should launch sometime this week.

Are you trying out Android 8.1 Oreo ahead of its public launch in December? What do you think of the update?