Kellen in News 9 years ago

Android M Developer Preview 2 Now Available! (Updated)

Go! Go! Go!

The Android M Developer Preview 2 is now available for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player.

The Nexus 5, 6, and 9 are getting build MPZ79M, while the Nexus Player gets MPZ79N. These, like previous previews, are in the form of a factory image that requires adb in order to flash if you want them immediately. However, Google does appear to be pushing over-the-air (OTA) updates to preview 2 for those on preview 1. Feel free to check in Settings>About to see if the update is live for you. If it’s not there yet, Google says that it should show up “within a few days of availability.”

Links: Preview 2 Changes | Downloads

UPDATE: We are compiling a list of the Android M Preview 2 OTA files here.

UPDATE 2: we are also compiling a list of the new features or tweaks, all of which can be found here.

For instructions on how to flash these factory images, hit up this post.

This is what Google had to say about this update:

Android M Developer Preview 2 is an incremental update to the Android M preview platform that was originally released in May 2015. The update includes a variety of enhancements and bug fixes made across the system, including those related to issues reported by developers through the external issue tracker.

As for what’s new, Google added a whole batch of permissions changes, but that’s all they are really telling us. In terms of issues, they actually did include a list of known bugs, but none of them are all that critical to day-to-day functionality from what we can tell. To view the full list hit up the Preview 2 link above.

Here is a short list:

Android Platform Changes:

Modifications to platform permissions including external storage, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth location, and changes to contacts/identity permissions. Device connections through the USB port are now set to charge-only mode by default. To access the device, users must explicitly grant permission.

API Changes:

Updated Bluetooth Stylus APIs with updated callback events. View.onContextClickListener and GestureDetector.OnContextClickListener to listen for stylus button presses and to perform secondary actions.

Updated Media API with new callback InputDevice.hasMicrophone() method for determining if a device microphone exists.

Fixes for developer-reported issues:

TextInputLayout doesn’t set hint for embedded EditText. (fixed issue)

Camera Permission issue with Legacy Apps (fixed issue)