Tag: Android Oreo 8.1

Android Oreo 8.1 Slated to Launch Today

December 5, 2017 Android, Android Oreo 8.1 No Comments
Android Oreo on Nexus 6P

In part of a broader announcement regarding Android Oreo Go Edition, Google has announced that Android Oreo 8.1 will be available to eligible Pixel and Nexus devices starting later today.  The update is the first maintenance release for Oreo and brings several refinements to the platform.  Oreo 8.1 has been in beta testing since October and Google had committed to getting it out to the general public before the end of 2017.

Along with a handful of refinements, Oreo 8.1 brings enables the Pixel 2’s Pixel Visual Core, Google visual co-processor, an updated API set (API Level 27) and several minor tweaks to help prevent screen burn-in and other fixes.

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Android Oreo 8.1 Developer Preview 2 Released

November 27, 2017 Android, Android Oreo 8.1 No Comments
Android Oreo on Nexus 6P

Today the second Developer Preview of Android Oreo 8.1 was released to those in the Android Beta Program.  The update brings the November 2017 Android Security Update to the beta program and OTA updates for those with devices enrolled should start flowing today and throughout the next few days.

This will be the last Developer Preview of Oreo 8.1 before it is generally released next month.  You can read about all the major updates & changes coming in Oreo 8.1 here.

The 2nd preview more-or-less fixes bugs and other issues found in the first preview released last month.  The new Pixel Visual Core, which was not in DP1, is now enabled in this second preview.  For those that are familiar with this feature, it is Google’s first co-processor for image processing and Machine Learning.  Currently it is only available in the Pixel 2 lineup.

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Android Oreo 8.1 Preview Change Log

October 25, 2017 Android, Android Oreo 8.1 No Comments
Android Oreo on Nexus 6P

The first public beta of Android Oreo 8.1 has been released to the Android Beta Program community today.  The new build is OPP5.170921.005 and it is the same across all eligible devices in the program.  That includes the Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 6P and the Nexus 5X.

It has been suspected that this first maintenance build of Oreo was going to be here quickly after the Pixel 2 launch and that has proven to be the case.  Oreo 8.1 does bring some noticeable changes from an end user experience but for developers, there are some significant changes.

From a user perspective, there are minor changes to the UI like colors on the settings menu, a new ambient screen on the original Pixel lineup and Bluetooth power indicators on the notification shade. Most of these are in the new Pixel 2 lineup already but are no going out across other Pixel and some Nexus devices too.

For developers, the API level is up to API 27 but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  There are other new APIs along with refinements to other features of the platform.    Here is the rundown.

Neural Networks API

The Neural Networks API (NNAPI) provides apps with hardware acceleration for on-device machine learning operations. The API supports on-device model creation, compilation, and execution. Apps typically do not use NNAPI directly; instead, NNAPI is meant to be called by machine learning libraries, frameworks, and tools that let developers train their models and deploy them on Android devices.

Added WallpaperColors API

Android 8.1 Developer Preview (API level 27) adds support for managing wallpaper colors. This feature lets you create a WallpaperColors object from a bitmap, a drawable, or by using the first three most visually representative colors. You can also retrieve details of the first three noticeable colors of a wallpaper.

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