Google on Monday released the Android 8.0 Oreo system images, just over half an hour after announcing the latest iteration of its mobile operating system. As expected, the factory images are available for all variants of the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, and Nexus devices that the Alphabet-owned firm promised to support with the new version of Android. The compatibility list of the latter consists of the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus Player, and the Pixel C tablet. Owners of either one of those devices are now able to download the first Android 8.0 Oreo system image for their smartphone and manually flash it onto the device. Note that this method is primarily aimed at Android developers with testing devices on hand as it will erase all data stored on the product that’s receiving the flashed image.
Likewise, the process of flashing a system image will require your target device to have an unlocked bootloader which voids your warranty in most cases, so if you have one of the aforementioned devices and are able to remain patient for a few more hours or days before Google distributes Android 8.0 Oreo to your smartphone or tablet via an over-the-air (OTA) update, you are advised to do so. Everyone else can follow the banner below, download the system image for their device, unzip it to a local directory, connect their device to the same PC via a USB cable, start it in Fastboot mode, and run one of the supported commands which Google details on its official support page, also linked beneath this writing.
Google already provided developers with an accurate preview of what they can expect from Android 8.0 Oreo seeing how the company distributed four experimental builds of the OS earlier this year, with the Android O Developer Preview 4 coming with near-final system images, finished APIs, and finalized app behaviors, meaning that if your app works on that particular version of the software, it should run on the stable channel without any issues. Android 8.0 Oreo is set to start hitting third-party devices in the near future, with Google confirming that the likes of Samsung, LG, HTC, Sony, Motorola, Nokia, and Huawei are all set to soon update their offerings to the latest stable build of its mobile OS.
Download Android 8.0 System Images