Google has now turned the wick up on the Android N Beta Program site, allowing you to register your device and download the next generation of Android to your eligible device. The program is designed for developers to download the technical previews as they are released via an OTA update instead of having to reflash your device each time, a huge time saver to say the least.
[Update] I just received the discount code. All in, it took about 45 minutes from the time I submitted to the time I received it. Not bad. Again, your mileage will vary.
As part of the announcement releasing the technical preview of Android N, Google has also announced that developers can save 25% off of the latest Android tablet, the Pixel C. But here is the interesting things: It seems that anyone can get the deal. Simply register your email address and you will be sent a discount code to use in the Google Store.
As you all know, Android N is now available in developer preview (beta) for a select set of Nexus devices. As I pointed out in my post, it is certainly beta and unless you have a device that you don’t need as your daily driver, you most certainly should wait. That said, there is no reason you have to wait for the stock wallpaper from N!
On the list of things I expected to see today, a beta of Android N was not on that list. After all, we are still a few weeks away from Google I/O and that has traditionally been when we see the latest builds of the next version of Android. Not this year. Google dropped the first technical preview of the next generation of the mobile Operating System today and if you have a Nexus device, you can download it to your device right now. But I would seriously, seriously wait.
Google has launched a new destinations search results feature in Google Search that will make finding your next holiday destination a bit easier. The new feature brings a wealth of information to your fingertips just by adding the word “destination” to your search. For example, you can search Destination Thailand and you will get a listing of all of the popular travel destinations in that country along with average flight costs and hotel costs in a tile-style results page.
The Chromium team over at Google has released a small but important update to the Chrome browser for PC, Mac and Linux today that users will want to make sure they have installed. The updated build is version 49.0.2623.87 for those keeping score at home and while it doesn’t bring any new features, it does close a few security holes that were in the first Chrome 49 build released last week.
Google has released the latest Android distribution numbers and it is good news for Android Marshmallow. The latest report was posted yesterday and the most current version of Android saw a 109% increase in its install base over February 2016. While the overall percentage compared to all Android version is small, only 2.3%, the jump is reflective of the significant number of devices that have seen Marshmallow come to them over the course of the last month.
Google Play Newsstand for Android has been updated today and while it is a small upgrade, it is an important one. The app now supports Accelerated Mobile Pages, or AMP, which will give users amazingly fast page loads within the app. AMP, for those who aren’t familiar, is a new code structure that Google has introduced that allows quick loading of pages from sites that are AMP enabled.