We had reported earlier that the first Android P developer preview is due to roll out soon, Well it has happened with Google announcing the launch of the first developer update of the upcoming Android P. The new update comes with some great features like Notch support, indoor positioning, and improved message notifications.
Google Pixel users can download and install the latest update, but it is to be noted that this preview is only for developers to test their apps against the upcoming release. Google has also announced that is only an alpha version of Android P which means you are bound to encounter a lot of error or bugs with it.
The developer version of Android P brings on board OS-level support for the screen notch that has become a common feature of the latest iPhones from Apple. It also brings indoor positioning via Wi-Fi RTT which is also known as 802.11mc. This new feature can measure the distance to nearby Wi-Fi points without having to connect with them.
The rollout of this new feature would mean, development of many indoor navigations apps from the developers to incorporate this new feature for better mapping capabilities. It also means the development of disambiguated voice control feature to respond to voice commands.
The latest update also comes with better messaging notifications with pictures and stickers in them. Google has also enabled smart replies in this new version to bring Android devices at par with iPhones. Apart from that, Google has also changed the design of the notification pane and the quick settings menu, as it does with every new Android version.
In the Android P version, a multi-camera API can also enable seamless zoom and stereo vision on devices with multi-cameras on the front or back. However, it remains to be seen, how many OEMs opt to use this new API in their devices. One thing is certain, however, that this new feature is going to be a boon for the developers of third-party camera apps.
As far as the next developer preview is concerned, we expect it to come out by May 2018 and then some more developer previews are going to appear before the final stable version is released.