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Google Android

Google Launches First Android P Developer Preview (venturebeat.com) 42

Posted by msmash from the new-software-updates dept.
Google today launched the first Android P developer preview, available for download now at developer.android.com. From a report: The preview includes an updated SDK with system images for the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, and the official Android Emulator. Unlike last year, there is no emulator for testing Android Wear on Android P.

[...] Today's preview includes the following new APIs and features (but you can expect much more; this is just the first preview, after all): Display cutout support; HDR VP9 Video, HEIF image compression, and Media APIs; HEIF (heic) images encoding has been added to the platform; multi-camera API; ImageDecoder for bitmaps and drawables; Improved messaging notifications; Data cost sensitivity in JobScheduler; indoor positioning with Wi-Fi RTT: Platform support for the IEEE 802.11mc WiFi protocol -- also known as WiFi Round-Trip-Time (RTT) -- lets you take advantage of indoor positioning in your apps. Other features and their descriptions are listed here.
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Google Launches First Android P Developer Preview More

Google Launches First Android P Developer Preview

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  • Wonder if it has a Yellow theme (Score:4, Funny)

    by HumanWiki ( 4493803 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2018 @02:12PM (#56222717)

    and if the follow up will be Android PP

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Android PP - code name Golden Shower - Trump edition.

  • Maybe P will fix the problems with O and N. If it's ever released for any of my devices that are more than 1 year old.

  • Have they said what the code name will be yet? I would think Popsicle would be the obvious choice.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by msauve ( 701917 )
      ...or Pie, or Pudding (picture the lawn statue for that one), or Praline, or Parfait, or ...

      What makes Popsicle such an "obvious choice," especially considering it's a trademark? If they want to deal with getting trademark permissions (as they've done on some past occasions), then Pez, or Pixy-stix, or Pop Rocks, or ...

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by SeaFox ( 739806 )

        What makes Popsicle such an "obvious choice," especially considering it's a trademark? If they want to deal with getting trademark permissions (as they've done on some past occasions), then Pez, or Pixy-stix, or Pop Rocks, or ...

        Obviously they have no issue with it, since they used Oreo.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by msauve ( 701917 )
          ...they also used Kit-Kat. Both names with few (non-trademarked and widely recognized) choices. Your point?

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by SeaFox ( 739806 )

            ...they also used Kit-Kat. Both names with few (non-trademarked and widely recognized) choices. Your point?

            "Popsicle" is really one of the first things that (pardon the pun) pops into people's heads when looking for a dessert or confection that starts with "P". While the term may be owned by someone, it's one of those words that has come to describe a common noun (like Kleenex for any facial tissue). "Pop-Rocks" is a bit dated from being linked to a specific period of time, and "Pez" isn't as popular. "Pixy-Stix" has some chance here, but note that that last couple major Android versions (7.0 and 8.0) have ship

  • Where Apps can be downloaded and Rendered on the fly, using some sort of interpreted language, that is platform independent, with open specifications.
    Where development can happen on any PC, and testing is primary about testing it on the given screen sizes.

    • Where Apps can be downloaded and Rendered on the fly, using some sort of interpreted language, that is platform independent, with open specifications.
      Where development can happen on any PC, and testing is primary about testing it on the given screen sizes.

      Congratulations, you just described web development.

      You know, the way apps worked on the iPhone at launch, before the public SDK came out?

      Never was there such a loud clamor to move to native development... the problem is that developers will always be bett

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AuMatar ( 183847 )

        More than that- if you support N platforms on one code base, you're limited to the lowest common denominator of the three code bases.

        And even when you try it like web programming, you end up with N variants or compatibility libraries everywhere to fix bugs/implementation differences/lagging support.

  • I'd love to try this out on my Nexus 6P (Fi), but looks like I may have to test it on my wife's Pixel. Which means I risk the Wrath of the Woman if I brick it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Well, according to Google [google.com], November 2017 was the last date for guaranteed Android version updates for the Nexus 6P. Security updates are guaranteed to November 2018. Support (phone and online) is guaranteed until November 2018 also.

      Note that Google may, at their leisure offer updates beyond that, but there are no guarantees.

      (The support dates are under "When you'll get Android updates")

      Good news is that Pixel phones and before are only guaranteed for 2 years of Android updates and 3 for security, Pixel 2 ph

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Teckla ( 630646 )

        Good news is that Pixel phones and before are only guaranteed for 2 years of Android updates and 3 for security, Pixel 2 phones are 3 years each.

        2 and 3 years from the date the phone was first made available for sale, right? Not from the date you purchased it.

        What a joke...

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Google can't both:
        - complain about android fragmentation
        - stop 2 years after first sale (+- 18 months after purchase in practice)

  • It saddens me that Android, with its very advanced features, still doesn't have a straight forward way of letting users schedule an alarm for a future date as an inbuilt capability by default. This is a killer feature for me. I know I am not alone.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AuMatar ( 183847 )

      Programatically? Use a JobScheduler and its trivial. At a user level? That's what a calendar app is for. You have your choice of several dozen. There's no reason to have to have an app especially for that built in, download it if you want it.

    • There is a way to do it as long as it is 7 days away, but it is rather roundabout. go to clock app. Set alarm for proper time. click "yes" for "repeat". Deselect all days except target day done

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by msauve ( 701917 )
        The suggestion given below is easier and more flexible.

        "OK Google. Set a reminder for July 4th, 2076 named tricentennial."

  • Comparing Google vs Apple styles (Score:3)

    by ScooterComputer ( 10306 ) on Wednesday March 07, 2018 @02:40PM (#56222839)

    I'm a huge Apple fan, have been all my computing life. But I think it instructional for developers (and consumers and fans!) to compare Google's communication style regarding new operating system features and Apple's, cough cough, "communication" style. Google is clear, outlines what features they've added and want to add, and their intent on development track. Apple... well...you get WWDC, and they show stuff, and they'll talk about some stuff, maybe. And maybe what they show and talk about ships, but good luck on getting more information about what is going on if it doesn't ship when planned. And even after that, don't plan on getting adequate, clear documentation; the best resource is the developer forums or Stack Exchange where you will get more (empirical) info from other developers than you do from Apple.

    This is NOT how I thought things would go. [Luke was right. (Tell your sister, he was right.)]

    Apple users, consumers, developers: we shouldn't stand for it. There –is– a better way. And Google shows it. Apple can pay lip service to the "evil" of Google, but at the end of the dev cycle, that's really all it is. And Apple can utter profundities about secrecy and the delight of surprise, but honestly it's all just nonsense after the "reveal". Apple...Tim Cook...up your game... it is beyond time to stop acting like it is 1997, or 2007.

    • And even after that, don't plan on getting adequate, clear documentation

      I'm not sure what your complaint about the Apple documentation is exactly but it's really good. The one area I think Apple could do better with is sample projects, which they do not always have for new or updated frameworks.

      Also the WWDC sessions do a really good job of presenting how new features work and how you are supposed to develop for them.

      It's true Apple is not necessarily as clear about where they are going, but they are very

    • None of this matters. Google can document their new features to their heart's content. The Android update model ensures that the vast majority of people won't have these features on their phones for years.

  • And Motorola still hasn't finished their rollout of Android O to Moto X4's

    • And Motorola still hasn't finished their rollout of Android O to Moto X4's

      To be fair, Oreo is tough. It's a massive change in how the system and vendor layers interact, which a huge pile of new requirements. This is all to the good in the long run, since the change should make future upgrades dramatically easier. But Oreo is hard for OEMs.

      I'm interested to see how the P rollout goes. It will be the first test of Oreo's Project Treble.

      • Since they started late last year, they've stopped security updates for Android N.
        Mines back on August 1 patch level.

  • Never owned an Apple device, and yet, I found myself envying anyone with an iThing, right now. Excellent phones like the Nexus 5/6x series (disclaimer: which I own) are going to be dropped by the new OS. Why? Probably, because they lack the newest AI chip to process buzzword at unprecedented speed. In the end, it really sucks to have only two choices: either being owned by the big, flaming Eye of Sauron that all sees, or being locked in the Golden Orchard.
  • The clock has moved from the far right to the far left people! ..and, colorful settings icons, awesomeness

  • Google's decision to not support Nexus devices with an OTA update is semi-understandable, but it would be really nice of them to AT LEAST continue with kernels, compatible binary kernel modules built for proprietary peripherals in Nexus devices, and updates to Google's own apps (esp. Play Services & Play store) for another 3 years. Why? Because they're the only ones who CAN make new binaries for Nexus devices. Qualcomm lets THEM have access to source & reference drivers the rest of us will never be

  • A guerrilla war by angry Nexus owners to associate "P" with "Poop" (and alternate mascot featuring the Android logo with a poop-emoji hat) as revenge for force-obsoleting still-fairly-new hardware by breaking kernel binary drivers without an official solution.

    A few hundred developers doing it in every related blog & forum post they make, and within days Google searches will either be suggesting "Android Poop", or Google will have to tamper with search results to suppress it & risk bad press when the

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