New Android Commit Suggests Android P is Nearing Developer Preview 1

Reading much into code commits in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) Gerrit is risky business, much like it is for the Chromium Gerrit for Chrome OS.  But it all indications are that the next major release of Android, Android P, is getting ready to hit the Developer Preview 1 stage.

A new commit simply states The future is now (2018 edition) and diving deeper into the platform Bionic, there is complete file structure that suggests everything is ready for a build of Android P to be completed.

Android Oreo Update Released for the OnePlus 5T

After several months of beta testing, OnePlus has released the new OxygenOS 5.0.2 build for the OnePlus 5T, bringing Android Oreo to the flagship phone.  The update is a comprehensive one, bringing a new launcher and several other improved apps along with it.

The update is big at over 1GB in size so you will want to make sure you download it via WiFi.  The update also contains the January Android Security Update patch so your OnePlus 5T will be protected against the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities.

G Suite Mobile Management Users Can Now Publish Private Apps to 20 Organizations

Google has announced an improvement the Google Mobile Management feature in G Suite today. The improvement allows administrators to publish a private app to up to 20 different organizations in their domain.  This gives admins more flexibility to deploy a private app to a particular region or a test group as an example.

For those not familiar with it, Google Mobile Management is part of the G Suite business offering that allows companies to have a private Google Play Store that regulates which apps can be downloaded to corporate phones.  This also allows for private apps, those not published in the public Play Store, to be available to employees.  To this point, the publishing of apps in this private store was across the entire domain.  Now admins can be more selective.

Google Photos Update Brings Improved Notifications for Photo Books

A new update to the Google Photos app is now rolling out in the Play Store, bringing several tweaks and enhancements to the photo storage app.  The update is version 3.13 for those keeping score at home.  One of the first changes you will notice is around Photo Books.  In this update, you can now get much more granular around book notifications, your draft photo books and promotions being offered.  Previously these were on by default.

There is also a new Share Back feature.  This works when you have an album shared with you in Google Photos.  In the overflow menu, you have the option to share back to that person immediately.  This will be a great feature for friends who want to share albums together.  For family members, it is still recommend you use the Partner Account sharing feature.

Third Chrome 65 Build Hits the Chrome OS Dev Channel

For the third time this month, the Dev Channel for Chrome OS is receiving a Chrome 65 based build update.  The new update is build 65.0.3325.35 (Platform version: 10323.9.0) for those keeping score at home and is bug and stability update.  The channel was updated back on January 19 for the first build of Chrome 65 then followed up on January 24 with a second build.

As mentioned in previous posts about the Dev Channel, it is best to consider it the alpha build channel and it is by no means aimed to be run in production.  It is purely for developers and testers so they can begin working on updates to their apps & extensions to be compatible with the new build.  I do not recommend everyday users of Chrome OS to move to this channel unless you are into bug hunting and like having crash issues. 🙂

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