First Android 7.1 Nougat Dev Preview Now Available

Max Buondonno October 19, 2016

Last week, Google announced that the first developer preview of Android 7.1 Nougat would be released later this month. It was unknown just what “later” meant, but it seems like it means now. Via the Android Developers Blog, we now know that Google has officially released the first beta of Android 7.1 for testing on Nexus devices.

A couple of weeks ago we announced that a developer preview of Android 7.1 Nougat was on the way. You can get started with this new release today by downloading the SDK and tools.

Specifically, the latest developer preview is available for the Nexus 6P, 5X, and Pixel C at this time. In November, Google will extend the preview of v7.1 to the Nexus 6 and 9. if you’d like to install the latest beta, you can simply visit Settings > About phone > Software Updates on your device and download the new build if you’re already enrolled in the Android Beta Program. If you’re not, click here to start the process. Alternatively, OTA images and factory images are available at their appropriate links.

So what’s new in the Android 7.1 Nougat? If you really wanna know, check out the release notes below.

App shortcuts API — lets you surface key actions directly in the launcher and take your users deep into your app instantly. You can create up to 5 shortcuts, either statically or dynamically.

Circular app icons support — lets you provide great-looking rounded icon resources that match the look of Pixel and other launchers.

Enhanced wallpaper metadata — lets you provide metadata about your wallpapers to any picker displaying the wallpapers as a preview. You can show existing metadata such as label, description, and author, as well as a new context URL and title to link to more information.

Image keyboard support — expands the types of content that users can enter from their keyboards, letting them express themselves through custom stickers, animated gifs, and more. Apps can tell the keyboard what types of content they accept, and keyboards can deliver all of the images and other content that they offer to the user. For broad compatibility, this API will also be available in the support library.

Storage manager Intent — lets an app take the user directly to a new Settings screen to clear unused files and free up storage space on the device.

APIs to support multi-endpoint calling and new telephony configuration options.