Google has released the fourth Developer Preview (DP) of Android P for the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL. The update has arrived a bit later than expected as Google releases the DP4 every year during the end of June. The DP4 images are now live on Google's website for the four devices, and the OTA updates are being rolled out too. However, users on the Android Beta program have to wait a bit longer as the updates aren't quite out yet. If you've installed the previous Developer Preview manually, you can wait for the OTA update or manually upgrade to the latest DP by downloading the system image file. This new update includes some changes, strangely enough, because, in DP4 and DP5, Google usually fixes the bugs and stabilises the overall performance. Surprisingly, the DP4 comes with a handful of new features such as revised gesture navigation button, a toggle for choosing light/dark mode and others.
Alongside Google, Essential also released a new Android P Beta update to the Essential PH-1 smartphone and other devices in the Android P Beta program such as the Nokia 7 Plus, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S will pick up the update very soon. Coming to the features included in the new DP4, Android Police reported that Google has modified the gesture navigation back button, which is now similar to the Xiaomi's on-screen back navigation key.
It's also reported that the recent apps navigation bar now occupies the entire bottom portion, rather than the half portion. Lastly, the best feature added by Google is the ability to manually choose dark and light launcher themes. Google has now added a new setting 'Device theme' under the Display section with three options- Automatic (based on wallpaper), Light and Dark. So if a user selects the Dark theme, then the navigation panel becomes dark. Earlier in Android 8.1 Oreo, Google added this functionality, but it was limited to automatic- so if you set a white wallpaper, the navigation panel will turn White, and if you a set a wallpaper with a dark background, it turns dark.
These are the changes included in the Android P Developer Preview 4. We will keep you posted about the Android P Beta 3 OTA rollout.
