The Android P Developer Preview one is now official and available to download for anyone that is looking to get their hands on the latest software from Google. With the first developer preview Google is slowly but surely starting to introduce a collection of new changes and features to the Android operating system which it will roll out over the course of the dev preview builds until the final release of the software later this year, and included in these features are things like Smart Reply for messages in the notification tray, as well as other messaging enhancements such as images showing up in the notification.
For those looking to install the first developer preview, the software will need to be installed manually by flashing it to your device, though it’s worth noting that Google is only making this available for four devices which are the Pixel and Pixel XL, as well as the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. As is the case with all developer previews installing the software by manually flashing the system images should be done with caution if you aren’t used to the process, and it’s important to backup any data you want to save as manually flashing the system image for Android P or any software will wipe the device just as it would with a factory data reset.
It is possible to avoid having your device data wiped but you’ll need to wait until Google starts making the first developer preview available as an OTA, which it might not do and instead decide to wait until the second developer preview build and beyond. That being said if you’re enrolled in the beta program for this type of software then Google will likely send out emails and alerts eventually to let users know that the preview build is available for download and installation through an OTA method. If you’re new to this sort of update for the software, Google has a handy guide for flashing system images that lays out all the instructions which are posted on the download page, so as long as you follow the steps given things should be fine. Also worth mentioning is that flashing the system image will keep users from getting OTA updates, so you’ll have to manually flash the image for each new build that comes in, including the final build once it’s sent out. If you’re looking to grab the first build of the Android P dev preview you can do so by hitting the button below.
Download Android P Developer Preview