Google has delivered on its promise and released the developer preview of Android Nougat 7.1 for beta testers before October ended. You can only access it if you have a Nexus 5X, a Nexus 6P or a Pixel C, though — Google won’t be releasing it for other devices until November, and its final public release won’t be available until December. If you do have any of the three devices, you can expect to get an OTA update if you’re enrolled to Android’s beta program.
While you can download the preview even if you don’t actually make apps, its features definitely benefit developers the most. Besides Daydream VR support, it comes with the capability to make app shortcuts and circular launcher icons to match the look of Google’s new Pixel phones. That said, it does have something for ordinary users: a restart button in the power menu. It also supports image keyboards, which allow you to insert stickers and GIFs in apps. If you’d like to test 7.1 out without enrolling to Google’s beta program, you can also do a manual update by flashing a system image.
