The Android N Developer Preview is here, which has plenty of Android fans making grabby hands. The developer preview really isn't for everybody though. It's built with developers in mind, and with some really good reasons to. Let's talk about who is using the developer preview, why they're using it, and why you probably want to avoid it until Google is ready to publicly release Android N.
It's called a Developer Preview, because it's there to give developers a running start towards the next version of Android. It's available so that the awesome people who build and design the apps that we all use every day can stay on top of their game. This preview gives them a glimpse into what Google is keeping the same, and what they are planning to change between this era of Android and the next one. It allows developers to see what new features have become available, so that their products can take advantage of them.
That brings us to the why of the developer preview. Allowing developers to see where Google is going with Android N, allows them to better develop apps that take advantage of everything at their fingertips. We've already seen new features like multi-window, new accessibility features, and bundled notifications. Giving developers access to these features help to make their products better by the time they get to the user.
The Android N developer preview is not for the regular user, it's really there specifically for developers. These builds aren't anything remotely resembling stable, they will break constantly over the next few months. They are being updated every month until Google releases the final version, but definitely are not fit for public consumption yet. This is not something you want on your daily driver, when it's ready Google will tell everybody about it. Trust us on that one.
What do you guys think about the where Android N is taking us?
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