Not much has been said about the upcoming Android M to be released this fall but I’m sure you’ve been guessing and betting on what the ‘M’ could possibly stand for. Muffin? Merengue? Milk Shake? I’m going for Android Muffin because it’s much easier to remember and illustrate. But let’s not waste our time thinking about the next dessert Google will be serving us. Developers who recently got to experience the Android M Developer Preview will be happy to know that an update has been released.
The devs’ early access is now made better, thanks to those updates and bug fixes that Google made based on the feedback and comments of the Android community. Officially called as the Developer Preview 2, this update brings the latest platform code, new APIs, Google Play services 7.6, and additional testing support mainly for Nexus devices. The Nexus and emulator system images have been improved and integrated with the new Android M.
As with most software updates, the Android M Developer preview for supported devices like the Nexus 9, Nexus 6, Nexus 5, and the Nexus play will be sent over-the-air. You should be receiving an OTA notification anytime if you are running Build #MPZ44Q on those devices.
The Android team also shared the new M Developer Preview 2 SDK now ready for download. Meanwhile, the SDK for developers who are using the emulator can be downloaded from the Android Studio.
Some of the major improvements of part of this Android M Developer preview update include some changes to platform permissions for WiFi/Bluetooth location, external storage, and contacts and identity permissions. The Bluetooth Stylus APIs have been updated with callback events while the Media API was updated with callback InputDevice.hasMicrophone(). Some developers reported issues and the Android team quickly fixed them including TextInputLayout not setting a hint for embedded EditText and camera permission issues with Legacy apps.
The APIs included in this update are said to be “near final”. They are almost ready but not quite so feedback and issues may still be reported. If you are running the Android M Developer preview already, please take time to report issues to the Android devs.
SOURCE: Android Developers Blog
