The full release of Android O is right around the corner but you don’t have to wait until then to get a taste of the new features baked into Android O. Google released the latest developer beta which gives a sneak peak at the new operating system build and, of course, allows app developers to work out any bugs that may appear in Android O. Best of all, you don’t have to be a developer to download and install Android O right now. I’ll walk you through how to get Android O up and running on your device.
First, before we begin, it’s highly recommended you only proceed if you’re comfortable dealing with the occasional bug and app crash. This is Google’s final beta release of Android O so it should be quite stable but there will likely be a few minor bugs that need to be ironed out before the full public release. If this device is your daily driver and you can’t handle having one of your important apps continuously crash on you, then it’s probably best to err on the side of caution and wait to install Android O.
Alright, now that my cautionary lecture is out of the way, let’s jump into the details on how to install Android O. You’ll want to make sure you have a compatible device. Here they are:
- Pixel
- Pixel XL
- Pixel C
- Nexus 6P
- Nexus 5X
- Nexus Player
It’s a somewhat limited selection so, unfortunately, you may be out of luck if you aren’t rocking one of those devices. If you do have one of the devices listed above then move ahead to the next steps.
- Back up your device. This release of Android O is probably very stable at this point in development but you never know what kind of problems can pop up. Better to be safe than sorry.
- On your device, open the browser and go to http://g.co/androidbeta. You’ll have to sign into your Google account.
- Scroll down the page until you hit the “Eligible Devices” section then tap “Enroll Device.”
- Read (lol) the Terms & Conditions, then tap “Join Beta.”
- Now you should get a notification on your device that the Andoid O developer preview is ready to download. Before you install Android O, be sure to back up your device. I know that was step one but you may have been so excited you skipped right over it so I’m saying it again.
There you have it! That’s all there is to getting Android O running on your device. Now you can enjoy some of the awesome new features that Google has introduced in Android O like picture in picture which allows compatible apps to run in a small window while you use other features of your phone. Awesome for when you’re watching a podcast on YouTube but still need to get work done. Also, Android is finally getting notification dots for apps. If you use a launcher like Nova Launcher then you have enjoyed this feature for a long time already but it’s nice to see it finally included in Android O. I’m also excited to try the new smart text selection. Instead of messing with those little text selection tabs and getting frustrated, Android will be able to predict what you want to select, like an address for example. Should be a pretty handy feature.
That’s just a quick look at Android O. There’s lots more to check out. What do you think? Will you install Android O now or wait for the full release? Let us know!
