page.title=Support and Release Notes
meta.keywords="preview", "android"
page.tags="preview", "developer preview"
page.image=images/cards/card-n-support_2x.png
@jd:body
<div id="qv-wrapper">
<div id="qv">
<h2>In this document</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="#dp4">Developer Preview 4</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#general">General advisories</a></li>
<li><a href="#new">New in DP4</a></li>
<li><a href="#ki">Known issues</a></li>
<li><a href="#upgrade-notes">Notes on publishing apps that target API 24</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#dp3">Developer Preview 3</a></li>
<li><a href="#dp2">Developer Preview 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#dp1">Developer Preview 1</a></li>
</ul>
<!--
<h2>See Also</h2>
<ol>
<li></li>
</ol>
-->
</div>
</div>
<p>
Two primary support channels are available to you when developing and testing
with the Android N Developer Preview: Please file bugs at <a href=
"https://developer.android.com/preview/bug"
>https://developer.android.com/preview/bug</a> for
device-specific, system, and Google App bugs. For issues in other apps,
please contact the developer directly.
</p>
<p>
To discuss issues or ideas with other developers working with Android N, join
the <a href="{@docRoot}preview/dev-community">Developer Preview Google+
community</a>.
</p>
<h2 id="dp4">Developer Preview 4</h2>
<div class="wrap">
<div class="cols">
<div class="col-6of12">
<p>
<em>Date: June 2016<br>
Build: NPD56N<br>
Emulator support: x86 & ARM (32/64-bit)<br>
Google Play services: 8.4</em>
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<h3 id="general">General advisories</h3>
<p>
This Developer Preview release is for <strong>app developers and other early
adopters</strong> and is available for daily use, development, or
compatibility testing. Please be aware of these general notes about the
release:
</p>
<ul>
<li>This release may have various <strong>stability issues</strong> on
supported devices.
</li>
<li>Some apps <strong>may not function as expected</strong> on the new
platform version. This includes Google’s apps as well as other apps.
</li>
<li>Developer Preview 4 is <strong>Compatibility Test Suite (CTS)
approved</strong> on these devices: Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, and
Pixel C. Apps that depend on CTS approved builds should work normally
on these devices (Android Pay for example).
</li>
<li>Developer Preview 4 is <strong>available on all supported
devices:</strong> Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player,
Pixel C, General Mobile 4G (Android One), as well as Sony Xperia Z3
(D6603 and D6653 models).
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="new">New in DP4</h3>
<h4>Android N final APIs</h4>
<p>
Developer Preview 4 includes the <strong>final APIs</strong> for the upcoming
Android N platform. The new API level is 24.
</p>
<h4>Play publishing</h4>
<p>
You can now publish apps that use <strong>API level 24</strong> to Google
Play, in alpha, beta, and production release channels.
</p>
<h4>Android Studio and tools updates</h4>
<p>
Along with Developer Preview 4 we’re providing the <strong>final API 24
SDK</strong> to be used with Android Studio 2.1.2 and higher. In addition,
we’re releasing updated Developer Preview 4 system images for the emulator to
help test your apps.
</p>
<p>
As new updates roll out for Android Studio, you should see minor improvements in
the new project wizards and AVD manager as we add enhanced support for API 24.
These are primarily cosmetic changes and should not stop you from getting
your app ready for an update in the Play store.
</p>
<h4 id="api-changes">Feature and API changes</h4>
<ul>
<li>In previous versions of Android, an app activates with all of its locale
resources loaded before locale negotiation begins. Starting in Android N DP4,
the system negotiates resource locales individually for each resource object
before the app activates.
</li>
<li>As announced at Developer Preview 3, we’ve deferred the Launcher
Shortcuts feature to a later release of Android. In Developer Preview 4,
we’ve removed the Launcher Shortcuts APIs.
</li>
<li>We’ve changed the BLE Scanning behavior starting in DP4. We’ll prevent
applications from starting and stopping scans more than 5 times in 30
seconds. For long running scans, we’ll convert them into opportunistic scans.
</li>
<li>The <a href=
"{@docRoot}preview/features/multi-window.html">Multi-Window</a>
<code>android:minimalHeight</code> and <code>android:minimalWidth</code>
attributes have been renamed to <code>android:minHeight</code> and
<code>android:minWidth</code>.
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="ki">Known Issues</h3>
<h4>Stability</h4>
<ul>
<li>Users may encounter system instability (such as kernel panics and
crashes).
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Launcher</h4>
<ul>
<li>The default launcher’s <strong>All Apps</strong> tray may become
unresponsive after cycling the screen off and on. Returning to the
homescreen and relaunching the <strong>All Apps</strong> tray may resolve
this issue.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Setup Wizard</h4>
<ul>
<li>Crash on selecting "Not now" in "Set up email" screen.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Media</h4>
<ul>
<li>Media playback may be unreliable on Nexus 9 and Nexus Player, including
issues playing HD video.
</li>
<li>Occasional freeze when running the YouTube app with other apps in
multi-window mode on Pixel C devices. In some cases hard reboot is required.
</li>
<li>Apps may have issues playing some Widevine DRM-protected content on Nexus
9 devices.
</li>
<li>Issues handling VP8 video on Nexus 9 devices.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>External storage</h4>
<ul>
<li>Apps may become unstable when the user moves them from internal storage
to adoptable external storage (this can include SD card or devices attached
over USB).
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Screen zoom and multiple APKs in Google Play</h4>
<ul>
<li>On devices running Android N, Google Play services 9.0.83 incorrectly
reports the current screen density rather than the stable screen density.
When screen zoom is enabled on these devices, this can cause Google Play to
select a version of a multi-APK app that’s designed for smaller screens. This
issue is fixed in the next version of Google Play services and will be
included in a later Developer Preview release.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Vulkan support and multiple APKs in Google Play</h4>
<ul>
<li>On devices running Android N, Google Play services 9.0.83 currently
reports Vulkan support but not Vulkan version. This can cause Google Play to
select a version of a multi-APK app that’s designed for lower Vulkan support
on devices with higher version support. Currently, the Google Play Store does
not accept uploads of apps which use Vulkan version targeting. This support
will be added to the Google Play Store in the future and fixed in the next
version of Google Play services (to be included in a later Developer Preview
release). Any N devices using the version of Google Play services 9.0.83 will
continue to receive versions of apps targeting basic Vulkan support.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Accessibility</h4>
<ul>
<li>Switch access doesn't allow user to navigate web pages in Chrome.
</li>
<li>Accessibility issues for talkback users with notification dismissal, and
wifi selection screen.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Android for Work</h4>
<ul>
<li>Currently, CA certificates provisioned through {@link
android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager} are not
available to profiles other than the primary user/profile due to a preload
issue. For example, this could prevent a user from connecting to a trusted
server when in a Work profile. This issue will be resolved in the next
Developer Preview.
</li>
<li>After reboot with work mode off, solving work challenge does not switch
on work mode.
</li>
<li>Users receiving a video call in Hangouts have to unlock work challenge
first.
</li>
<li>Accessing Settings > Security > Device Security crash observed when
separating primary and work challenge.
</li>
<li>If {@link android.os.UserManager#DISALLOW_CONFIG_VPN} is set before
calling {@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#setAlwaysOnVpnPackage
DevicePolicyManager.setAlwaysOnVpnPackage()}, then setting always on VPN does
not work. That is, after rebooting the device with the {@link
android.os.UserManager#DISALLOW_CONFIG_VPN} restriction set, VPN is not
autostarted.
</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="">Android Auto</h4>
<p>
The version of Google Maps included in Developer Preview 4 (9.30) crashes
when used with Android Auto. This issue will be fixed in the next update to
Google Maps (9.31), expected in the coming weeks.
</p>
<!-- TBA, if any
<h4>Device-specific issues</h4>
<dl>
<dt>
<strong>Device Name</strong>
</dt>
<dd>
Issue 1
</dd>
<dd>
Issue 2
</dd>
</dl>
-->
<h4 id="dp4-fixes">Fixes for issues reported by developers</h4>
<p>
A number of issues reported by developers have been fixed, including:
</p>
<ul>
<li>The active network state ({@link android.net.NetworkInfo#getState
NetworkInfo.getState()} and {@link android.net.NetworkInfo#getDetailedState
NetworkInfo.getDetailedState()}) might return incorrect values during some
restricted background scenarios
</li>
<li>Data Saver restricts the foreground MMS mobile network request
(<a href="https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=208478">bug
208478</a>)
</li>
<li>Quick settings tiles and notifications sometimes unresponsive
</li>
<li>Unable to dismiss Clock notifications
</li>
<li>Duplication of bluetooth icon and other status icons
</li>
<li>Additional bluetooth connectivity fixes
</li>
</ul>
<p>For the full list of fixed issues, see <a href="https://goo.gl/6uCKtf">the
issue tracker</a>.</p>
<h3 id="upgrade-notes">Notes on publishing apps that target API 24</h3>
<p>
Before publishing apps that target API 24 in Google Play, keep these points
in mind:
</p>
<ul>
<li>If your app’s current <code>targetSdkVersion</code> is 22 or lower and
you want to target API 24, you’ll need to support <a href=
"{@docRoot}about/versions/marshmallow/android-6.0-changes.html">behaviors
introduced with Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)</a>, such as <a href=
"{@docRoot}training/permissions/requesting.html">runtime permissions</a>, in
addition to Android N behaviors.
</li>
<li>Once you publish an app with <code>targetSdkVersion</code> set to 23 or
higher, you can't later publish a version of the app with a higher
<code>versionCode</code> that targets 22 or lower. This restriction applies
in alpha and beta channels as well as production channel.
</li>
</ul>
<!-- DP3 Release Notes Archive -->
<h2 id="dp3">Developer Preview 3</h2>
<div class="wrap">
<div class="cols">
<div class="col-6of12">
<p>
<em>Date: May 2016<br>
Build: NPD35K<br>
Emulator support: x86 & ARM (32/64-bit)<br>
Google Play services: 8.4</em>
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<h3 id="dp3-general">General advisories</h3>
<p>
This Developer Preview release is for <strong>app developers and other early
adopters</strong> and is available for daily use, development, or
compatibility testing. Please be aware of these general notes about the
release:
</p>
<ul>
<li>This release may have various <strong>stability issues</strong> on
supported devices. Users may encounter system instability, such as kernel
panics and crashes.
</li>
<li>Some apps <strong>may not function as expected</strong> on the new
platform version. This includes Google’s apps as well as other apps.
</li>
<li>Developer Preview 3 is <strong>Compatibility Test Suite (CTS)
approved</strong> on these devices: Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, and Pixel
C. Apps that depend on CTS approved builds should
work normally on these devices (Android Pay for example).
</li>
<li>Developer Preview 3 is <strong>available on all supported
devices:</strong> Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel
C, General Mobile 4G (Android One), as well as Sony Xperia Z3 (D6603 and
D6653 models).
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="dp3-new">New in DP3</h3>
<h4>VR Mode for Android</h4>
<p>
Android N adds platform support and optimizations for a new VR Mode to let
developers build high quality mobile VR experiences for users. There are a
number of performance enhancements, including access to an exclusive CPU core
for VR apps. Within your apps, you can take advantage of intelligent
head-tracking, and stereo notifications that work for VR. Most importantly,
Android N provides for very low latency graphics.
</p>
<p>
For more information, see the <a href=
"https://developers.google.com/vr/android/">Google VR SDK for Android</a>.
</p>
<h4>Sustained performance mode</h4>
<p>
Android N includes optional support for <a href=
"{@docRoot}preview/api-overview.html#sustained_performance_api">sustained
performance mode</a>, enabling OEMs to provide hints on device performance
capabilities for long running applications. App developers can then use these
hints to tune applications for a predictable, consistent level of device
performance over long periods of time. App developers can try out this new
API in the developer preview on Nexus 6P devices only.
</p>
<h4>Multiprocess WebView</h4>
<p>
Starting with version 51 in Android N, WebView will run web content in a
separate sandboxed process when the developer option "Multiprocess WebView"
is enabled. The WebView team is looking for feedback on compatibility and
runtime performance in N before enabling multiprocess WebView in a future
version of Android. In this version, regressions in startup time, total
memory usage and software rendering performance are expected.
</p>
<p>
If you find unexpected issues in multiprocess mode we’d like to hear about
them. Please get in touch with the WebView team by <a href=
"https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/entry?template=Webview%20Bugs">
filing a bug</a>.
</p>
<h4>Keyboard Shortcuts helper</h4>
<p>
Android N lets users press <code>Meta+/</code> to trigger a <strong>Keyboard
Shortcuts</strong> screen that displays all shortcuts available both from the
system and from the app in focus. Developers can add their own shortcuts or
trigger the Shortcuts screen from their apps. See <a href=
"{@docRoot}preview/api-overview.html#keyboard_shortcuts_helper">Keyboard
Shortcuts helper</a> for details.
</p>
<h4>FrameMetrics API</h4>
<p>
DP3 introduces a new <a href=
"{@docRoot}preview/api-overview.html#framemetrics_api">FrameMetrics API</a>
that allows an app to monitor its UI rendering performance by exposing a
streaming pubsub API to transfer frame timing info for the application’s
current window. <code>FrameMetricsListener</code> can be used to measure
interaction-level UI performance in production with higher granularity and
without the need for a USB connection.
</p>
<h4 id="dp3-api-changes">Feature and API changes</h4>
<dl>
<dt>
Launcher Shortcuts and the Launcher Shortcuts API
</dt>
<dd>
We’ve decided to defer this feature to a future release of Android. We plan
to remove the Launcher Shortcuts APIs (ShortcutManager and others) from the
public Android N API starting in the next developer preview.
</dd>
<dt>
WebView Javascript run before page load
</dt>
<dd>
Starting with apps targeting Android N, the Javascript context is reset
when a new page is loaded. Currently, the context is carried over for the
first page loaded in a new {@link android.webkit.WebView} instance.
Developers looking to inject Javascript into the {@link
android.webkit.WebView} should execute the script after the page has
started to load.
</dd>
<dt>
WebView Geolocation on insecure origins
</dt>
<dd>
Starting with apps targeting Android N, the geolocation API will only be
allowed on secure origins (over HTTPS.) This policy is designed to protect
users' private information when they're using an insecure connection.
</dd>
<dt>
Data Saver
</dt>
<dd>
Starting in Developer Preview 3, apps can use use an intent to display a
system dialog that lets the user directly add the app to the Data Saver
exemption whitelist. See the <a href=
"{@docRoot}preview/api-overview.html#data_saver">Data Saver
documentation</a> for details.
</dd>
<dt>
<a href=
"{@docRoot}preview/api-overview.html#number-blocking">Number-blocking</a>
</dt>
<dd>
If an unauthorized user attempts to block or unblock a number, the
operation now fails with {@link java.lang.SecurityException}. (Previously,
the operation threw {@link java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException}.)
</dd>
<dt>
<a href="{@docRoot}preview/api-overview.html#tile_api">Quick Settings Tile
API</a>
</dt>
<dd>
The system now uses the activity's metadata to decide on the tile mode.
(Previously, tile mode was determined by the return value of
<code>TileService.onTileAdded()</code>.) For more information, see
<code>TileService.META_DATA_ACTIVE_TILE</code> in the downloadable <a href=
"{@docRoot}preview/setup-sdk.html#docs-dl">API Reference</a>.
</dd>
</dl>
<h4 id="dp3-fixes">Fixes for issues reported by developers</h4>
<p>
A number of issues reported by developers have been fixed, including:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Bluetooth Audio playback interrupted after 1 song (bug <a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=206889">206889</a>)
</li>
<li>Pixel C Consistently Crashes (bug <a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=206962">206962</a>)
</li>
<li>Clock and Toast notification issues (bug <a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=203094">203094</a>)
</li>
<li>Pixel C reboots when connected to MacBook Pro via USB C Cable (bug
<a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=205432">205432</a>)
</li>
<li>Calandar offset by one day (bug <a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=203002">203002</a>)
</li>
<li>TelephonyManager.getAllCellInfo returning invalid data (bug <a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=203022">203022</a>)
</li>
<li>Nexus 6p, Bluetooth keeps disconnecting (bug <a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=208062">208062</a>)
</li>
</ul>
<p>For the full list of fixed issues, see <a href="https://goo.gl/6uCKtf">the
issue tracker</a>.</p>
<h3 id="dp3-ki">Known Issues</h3>
<h4>Accessibility</h4>
<ul>
<li>Unable to listen to TTS output when pitch is set near maximum level.
</li>
<li>Accessibility features and settings may be disrupted with the user adds a
Work profile, including magnification gesture and setting. Accessibility
state is restored when the user next touches the associated settings.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Camera</h4>
<ul>
<li>The Camera app has exhibited instability; it may crash in various
circumstances, such as when launched in multi-window mode.
</li>
<li>Pressing the shutter continuously in panorama mode may cause the Camera
app to crash.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Audio</h4>
<ul>
<li>A platform audio player issue prevents some apps from functioning
normally. For example, Skype and other apps are affected by this issue.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Connectivity</h4>
<ul>
<li>When a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) peripheral role device advertises a
service and a BLE central role device connects, the peripheral role device
disconnects very quickly.
</li>
<li>Wi-Fi connection may be dropped when the screen is off.
</li>
<li>RFCOMM connections are unstable and may result in data corruption and
dangling connections.
</li>
<li>The active network state ({@link android.net.NetworkInfo#getState
NetworkInfo.getState()} and {@link android.net.NetworkInfo#getDetailedState
NetworkInfo.getDetailedState()}) might return incorrect values during some
restricted background scenarios.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Launcher
</h4>
<ul>
<li>The default launcher’s All Apps tray may become unresponsive after
cycling screen off / screen on. Returning to the homescreen and relaunching
the All Apps tray may resolve this issue.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Keyboard
</h4>
<ul>
<li>When updating a device running Android 6.0 or earlier to the N Developer
Preview, Google Keyboard does not preserve preferences data such as recent
emoji and sound settings.
</li>
<li>Google Indic Managed Keyboard may be unstable.
</li>
<li>When entering text in a password field, the user can select Russian as
the input language but the keyboard remains in English. This prevents the
user from entering Russian-language passwords.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Locale and languages
</h4>
<ul>
<li>When using a right-to-left (RTL) locale, the system may unexpectedly
switch to left-to-right (LTR) presentation after restarting the device.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Media</h4>
<ul>
<li>Media playback be be unreliable on Nexus 9 and Nexus Player, including
issues playing HD video.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Multi-window mode
</h4>
<ul>
<li>Device may freeze when changing orientation in multi-window mode.
</li>
<li>Several apps currently have issues with multi-window mode:
<ul>
<li>The system UI may crash when docking Settings > Display >
Screen brightness to multi-window.
</li>
<li>The Camera app may crash when launched in multi-window mode.
</li>
<li>YouTube may crash when launched into multi-window mode. To fix the
issue, you can clear the YouTube app’s data at Storage > Apps >
YouTube.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Google Play services
</h4>
<ul>
<li>Apps using Google Cast through Google Play services may be unstable when
the user selects a system locale that uses letters and numbers outside of the
ASCII range.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Android for Work and Google Apps Device Policy
</h4>
<ul>
<li>The Device Policy app may crash when the user unlocks the device with the
"device policy status" screen pinned.
</li>
<li>After setting up a work profile with file-based encryption enabled and
then turning off Work, users must unlock primary profile screen lock to once
again access Work apps.
</li>
<li>Device reboots when removing the security pattern lock and opening work
app/personal app in the multi-window.
</li>
<li>Setting DISALLOW_VPN_CONFIG is causing the consent dialog to appear in
always-on-vpn set by Device Policy Client.
</li>
<li>Traffic is not locked down until VPN is connected in always-on-vpn mode.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>
External storage
</h4>
<ul>
<li>Apps may become unstable when the user moves them from internal storage
to adoptable external storage (this can include SD card or devices attached
over USB).
</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Screen zoom and multiple APKs in Google Play
</h4>
<ul>
<li>On devices running Android N, Google Play services 9.0.83 incorrectly reports
the current screen density rather than the stable screen density. When screen
zoom is enabled on these devices, this can cause Google Play to select a
version of a multi-APK app that’s designed for smaller screens. This issue is
fixed in the next version of Google Play services and will be included in a
later Developer Preview release.
</li>
<li>On devices running Android N, Google Play services 9.0.83 currently reports
Vulkan support but not Vulkan version. This can cause Google Play to select a
version of a multi-APK app that’s designed for lower Vulkan support on
devices with higher version support. Currently, the Google Play Store does
not accept uploads of Apps which use Vulkan version targeting. This support
will be added to the Google Play Store in the future and fixed in the next
version of Google Play services (to be included in a later Developer Preview
release) any N devices using the version of Google Play services 9.0.83 will
continue to receive versions of Apps targeting basic Vulkan support.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Notifications</h4>
<ul>
<li>MessagingStyle does not show notifications with "null" (self) sender.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Developer Tools</h4>
<ul>
<li>
<code>adb</code> may sometimes disconnect while using JDWP debugging.
</li>
</ul>
<!-- DP2 Release Notes Archive -->
<h2 id="dp2">Developer Preview 2</h2>
<div class="wrap">
<div class="cols">
<div class="col-6of12">
<p>
<em>Date: April 2016<br>
Builds: NPC91K, NPC91O<br>
Emulator support: x86 & ARM (32/64-bit)<br>
Google Play services: 8.4</em>
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<h3 id="dp2-new">New in DP2</h3>
<ul>
<li>Platform support for Vulkan, a new 3D rendering API that provides
explicit, low-overhead GPU (Graphics Processor Unit) control and offers
improved performance for draw-call heavy applications. For details, see the
<a href="{@docRoot}ndk/guides/graphics/index.html">documentation</a>.
</li>
<li>New people emoji with support for skin tones, and new Unicode 9 glyphs.
Skin tone and new emoji will not show up until keyboards build support for
them in the palette. Apps should not need to take any action to take
advantage of these new emoji, unless the apps use a non-system font. IME
developers need to incorporate support for the new emoji.
</li>
<li>
<a href="{@docRoot}preview/api-overview.html#launcher_shortcuts">Launcher
Shortcuts API</a>: Apps can use <code>ShortcutManager</code> to send
shortcuts to starting points within themselves to the launcher.
</li>
<li>
<a href="{@docRoot}preview/features/multi-window.html">Multi-Window</a>:
You can now specify a separate minimum height and minimum width for an
activity. In addition, several API names have been slightly changed.
</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="dp2-fixes">Fixes for issues reported by developers</h4>
<p>
A number of issues reported by developers have been fixed, including:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Can’t connect to hidden SSID or non-broadcast Wi-Fi. (bug <a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=203116">203116</a>)
</li>
<li>Microphone mute state persists across activities. (bug <a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=205922">205922</a>)
</li>
<li>Changing multi-window focus pauses YouTube. (bug <a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=203424">203424</a>)
</li>
<li>Direct Reply may close open activity. (bug <a href=
"https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=204411">204411</a>)
</li>
<li>Various stability fixes.
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="dp2-general">General advisories</h3>
<p>
This Developer Preview release is for <strong>app developers only</strong>
and is designed for use in compatibility testing and early development only.
Please be aware of these general notes about the release:
</p>
<ul>
<li>The development tool components and support libraries have been updated
for the DP2 release. Make sure to update your preview development environment
before developing for DP2. For instructions on setting up your development
environment, see
<a href="{@docRoot}preview/setup-sdk.html">Set Up the Preview</a>.
</li>
<li>This release has various stability and performance issues on all devices
that make it <strong>not suitable for daily use on phone or tablet</strong>,
especially for non-developers.
</li>
<li>Battery life and performance have not yet been optimized with this
release:
<ul>
<li>System and app <strong>performance is known to be periodically slow /
janky</strong>, and devices may become occasionally unresponsive. These
problems may become more acute with prolonged use.
</li>
<li>Battery life may be regressed in this release for screen-on and
screen-off use cases.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Some <strong>apps may not function normally</strong> on Developer Preview
2. This includes Google’s apps as well as other apps.
</li>
<li>This early build is not <strong>Compatibility Test Suite (CTS)
approved</strong>. Apps that depend on CTS approved builds won’t work
(Android Pay for example).
</li>
<li>This preview release supports the following devices: Nexus 5X, Nexus 6,
Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, and Pixel C, as well as General Mobile 4G
(Android One). Support for Nexus Player is coming soon.
</li>
<li><a href=
"https://github.com/googlesamples/android-testdpc/releases">TestDPC</a> has
been updated to handle API changes between DP1 and DP2.
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="dp2-ki">Known Issues</h3>
<h4>Performance and battery</h4>
<ul>
<li>System and app performance is known to be <strong>periodically slow /
janky</strong>, and device may become occasionally unresponsive. These
problems may become more acute with prolonged use.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Google accounts</h4>
<ul>
<li>In some circumstances, there can be issues with
<code>AccountManagerService</code> that prevent logging in to Google accounts
</li>
</ul>
<h4>System update</h4>
<ul>
<li>Device may restart immediately after updating to DP2.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Accessibility</h4>
<ul>
<li>Problem with listening to text-to-speech (TTS) output when pitch is set
near maximum level.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Bluetooth</h4>
<ul>
<li>Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) GATT characteristics are using the wrong write
type and will not be sent to a remote device. Thus, for example, some fitness
devices will not work.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Setup wizard</h4>
<ul>
<li>The option to restore data on a new device (or newly reset device) from
"Your Google Account" is not actionable in the setup wizard. You must restore
data from an existing device by selecting "another Android device" in the
setup wizard, or else set it up as a new device.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>OEM unlock</h4>
<ul>
<li>On some devices, <strong>Enable OEM unlock</strong> is grayed out in
"Developer Options" while running DP2.<br>
<strong>Workaround:</strong> Opt in to
the Android Beta Program (if you are not already opted in) by visiting
<a href="https://www.google.com/android/beta" class=
"external-link">www.google.com/android/beta</a>. Then, opt out and accept the
downgrade OTA. Opting out causes the device to downgrade to Android 6.0. You
should now be able to choose <strong>Enable OEM unlock</strong> in
"Developer Options". Personal data is erased when you downgrade the
device; however, unlocking the bootloader would have erased this data anyway.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Android for Work</h4>
<ul>
<li>Work Security Challenge
<ul>
<li>After migration to N, or after the user creates work profiles, work
profiles can't create keys in the keystore until the user changes their
pattern, PIN, or password, or sets up a Work Challenge.
</li>
<li>In Direct boot mode, applying the passcode restrictions to the device
causes the work profile to be unlocked, even though the device is locked.
This makes the work profile accessible even though it should be protected
by the device lock screen.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Always On VPN
<ul>
<li>If Always On VPN mode is turned on, but VPN is not available, apps
connect over the ordinary network. Apps should be offline if they have no
VPN connection available.
</li>
<li>When Always On mode is on, a VPN connection is not established after
a device reboots into Direct boot mode, even after the user unlocks the
secure lock screen.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Suspend Packages
<ul>
<li>Device admins can suspend critical system packages, which may lead to
unexpected behavior, such as placing calls despite the "Telephone
disabled" dialog being displayed.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Other
<ul>
<li>The Settings app crashes on launch if {@link
android.os.UserManager#DISALLOW_MOUNT_PHYSICAL_MEDIA} is set to true when
the user inserts physical media such as an SD card.
</li>
<li>The first check-in in a Work Profile takes several minutes to
complete.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="vulkan">Vulkan</h4>
<ul>
<li>Nexus 5X/6P</li>
<ul>
<li>Gaps between binding numbers and non-zero
as the first binding number causes {@code vkCreateGraphicsPipeline()} to fail.</li>
<li>Vulkan exhibits incorrect sampling behavior on projected texture coordinates.</li>
<li>in the multithreadCmdBuffer sample, {@code vkCmdClearColorImage()} crashes when
running with the N-DP2 driver.</li>
<li>Return values from {@code vkGetPhysicalDeviceFormatProperties()} do not set a value
for {@code VkFormatProperties::linearTilingFeatures}, which takes a value of 0 as
a result.</li>
<li>Vulkan floating point frame buffer attachments are not handled correctly.</li>
</ul>
<li>Nexus Player</li>
<ul>
<li>SPIR-V shaders may trigger driver asserts.</li>
<li>Some pipeline configurations may cause {@code vkCreateGraphicsPipeline()}
to crash.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h4>Device-specific issues</h4>
<dl>
<dt>
<strong>Android One</strong>
</dt>
<dd>
Data connection fails when device is switched from slot 1 to slot 2 SIM.
</dd>
<dt>
<strong>Pixel C</strong>
</dt>
<dd>
Unable to toggle Voice Search "Always On" option.
</dd>
<dt>
<strong>Nexus 6</strong>
</dt>
<dd>
Camera pictures in portrait orientation are corrupted, except for HDR+
photos.
</dd>
<dt>
<strong>Nexus Player</strong>
</dt>
<dd>
Playback of Netflix HD content may fail on Nexus Player.
</dd>
<dd>
Any application that relies on dynamic video resolution changes may fail on
Nexus Player.
</dd>
<dd>
Any application that use the VP9 video codec may fail on Nexus Player.
</dd>
</dl>
<!-- DP 1 release notes archive -->
<h2 id="dp1">Developer Preview 1</h2>
<div class="wrap">
<div class="cols">
<div class="col-6of12">
<p>
<em>Date: March 2016<br>
Builds: NPC56P, NPC56R, updated: NPC56W, NPC56X<br>
Emulator support: x86 & ARM (32/64-bit)<br>
Google Play services: 8.4</em>
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<h3 id="dp1-general">General advisories</h3>
<p>
This Developer Preview release is for app developers only and is designed for
use in compatibility testing and early development only. Please be aware of
these general notes about the release:
</p>
<ul>
<li>This release has various stability and performance issues on all devices
that make it <em>not suitable for daily use on phone or tablet</em>,
especially for non-developers.
</li>
<li>System and app performance is known to be <strong>periodically slow /
janky</strong>, and device may become occasionally unresponsive. These
problems may become more acute with prolonged use.
</li>
<li>Battery life may be regressed in this release for screen-on and
screen-off use cases.
</li>
<li>Some apps may not function normally on Developer Preview 1. This includes
Google’s apps as well as other apps.
</li>
<li>This early build is not Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) approved. Apps
that depend on CTS approved builds (Android Pay for example) won’t work.
</li>
<li>This preview release supports the following devices: Nexus 5X, Nexus 6,
Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, and Pixel C, as well as General Mobile 4G
(Android One).
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="dp1-platform">Platform Issues</h3>
<h4>Performance and battery</h4>
<ul>
<li>System and app performance is known to be <strong>periodically slow /
janky</strong>, and device may become occasionally unresponsive. These
problems may become more acute with prolonged use.
</li>
<li>Battery life may be regressed in this release for screen-on and
screen-off use cases.
</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="dialer">Dialer</h4>
<ul>
<li>Dialer app does not support Direct boot. This will be addressed later in
N Developer Preview.
</li>
<li>Voicemail playback does not work.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Microphone</h4>
<ul>
<li>The system may incorrect persists the microphone mute state across apps and reboots. If you mute the microphone in an app and the state is persisted, open any app that has microphone mute controls and unmute the microphone.</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="ui">System UI</h4>
<ul>
<li>Some new or modified strings in the system UI are not translated to all
languages.
</li>
<li>Overview UI is still in development, and subject to change. For example,
we intend to remove the timer that appears when the user switches between
apps.
</li>
<li>Settings controls and toggles may be slow or appear to be unresponsive.
</li>
<li>Visual design of notifications is subject to change.
</li>
<li>In the Gmail app, direct archiving of emails included in a notification
bundle does not work properly.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Android for Work</h4>
<ul>
<li>Work Security Challenge
<ul>
<li>After migration to N, or after the user creates work profiles, work
profiles can't create keys in the keystore until the user changes their
pattern, PIN, or password, or sets up a Work Challenge.
</li>
<li>In Direct boot mode, applying the passcode restrictions to the device
causes the work profile to be unlocked, even though the device is locked.
This makes the work profile accessible even though it should be protected
by the device lock screen.
</li>
<li>When the user enters a wrong password and pin, the system does not
display any informational message; instead, it only clears the input
field. This issue does not affect pattern or fingerprint input.
</li>
<li>On a tablet, the background displayed with the work challenge is
disproportionately small.
</li>
<li>The version of <a href=
"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.enterprise.dmagent">
Google Apps Device Policy</a> that is bundled with N Developer Preview
does not yet support the Work Profile Security Challenge feature.
Developers should instead use <a href=
"https://github.com/googlesamples/android-testdpc/releases">TestDPC</a>
to test this feature.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Always On VPN
<ul>
<li>If Always On VPN mode is turned on, but VPN is not available, apps
not specified as exceptions to the Always On policy connect over the
ordinary network. Unless specified as exceptions to Always On VPN policy,
apps should be offline if they have no VPN connection available.
<ul>
<li>When Always On mode is on, a VPN connection is not established
after a device reboots into Direct boot mode, even after the user
unlocks the secure lock screen.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Improved Contacts
<ul>
<li>Bluetooth PBAP/MAP devices do not display Caller ID for work
contacts. The next release of Preview resolves this issue.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Work Mode
<ul>
<li>The Google Now Launcher does not display whether Work Mode is on or
off. The Launcher also does not show app suspension state.
</li>
<li>After the user turns Work Mode off and on, the system no longer shows
Work profile app widgets, such as Calendar.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Suspend Packages
</li>
<li>Device admins can suspend critical system packages, which may lead to
unexpected behavior, such as placing calls despite the Telephone disabled
dialog’s being displayed.
</li>
<li>Other
<ul>
<li>The Settings app crashes on launch if {@link
android.os.UserManager#DISALLOW_MOUNT_PHYSICAL_MEDIA} is set to true when
the user inserts physical media such as an SD card.
</li>
<li>The {@code DPM.setPackagesSuspended} state does not persist when the
user uninstalls and then reinstalls an app. Either the app should remain
suspended after uninstall/reinstall, or suspended apps should not be
uninstallable
</li>
<li>The first check-in in a Work Profile takes several minutes to
complete. This may cause the device to take longer than normal to be
visible in the Play EMM API.
</li>
<li>Notifications from Work Profile apps are not visible to notification
listeners installed in the personal profile. As a result, the system does
not display Notifications as expected.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h4 >Keyboard</h4>
<ul>
<li>Bluetooth pairing between keyboards and Android devices may be unstable.
</li>
</ul>
<h4 >Video</h4>
<ul>
<li>Video playback may lag and show interruptions.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Wi-Fi</h4>
<ul>
<li>Wi-Fi has undergone some refactoring which may change API corner case
behavior. Specifically, applications which attempt to connect to specific
networks, or attempt to reconnect to networks should retest.
</li>
<li>The legacy DHCP client has been removed from the platform. The only DHCP
client that the platform supports is the DHCP client introduced in M.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Direct boot</h4>
<ul>
<li>NFC doesn't function until first unlock.
<ul>
<li>When a phone with Bluetooth enabled is restarted, Bluetooth does not
turn on automatically. You must manually re-enable Bluetooth.
</li>
<li>Under some circumstances, the default ringtone may not sound for
phone calls and messages. This behavior is fixed in the next N Preview
release, with one exception (and workaround):
</li>
<li>On a device that is not freshly wiped--one that has been booted at
least once since being set to direct boot mode--the default notification
ringtone does not sound. The user can work around this issue by manually
selecting a ringtone from Settings.
</li>
<li>Direct boot is not enabled by default on devices running an N
Developer Preview build. To enable direct boot for testing and
development, go to Developer Options and tap Convert to File Encryption.
In this dev preview, this requires a factory reset to repartition and
reformat your device for File-based Encryption.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Picture-in-picture for Android TV</h4>
<ul>
<li>The PIP integration in the Recents UI is not finalized, and is subject to
change.
<ul>
<li>The animation of the PIP window is not smooth. Future releases of the
Preview will improve this.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="list-style: none">Future releases of the Preview will improve upon
the visual design and layout alignment of PIP.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Bug reports</h4>
<ul>
<li>Bug reports do not always complete successfully (as a workaround,
sometimes they can still be accessed through the bug report document provider
in internal storage).
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Split-screen Multi-window</h4>
<ul>
<li>Apps may experience crashes and unexpected UI behavior when put into
split-screen mode. These are app issues that must be fixed by the app
developer.
</li>
<li>When an app targets a version of the Android platform earlier than N, the
App may not work with split-screen toast may appear multiple times.
</li>
<li>Long-pressing the Overview button while using an app with a fixed
orientation may produce unexpected app behavior.
</li>
<li>Apps may flicker while resizing.
</li>
<li>Animations are not yet final.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Input method</h4>
<ul>
<li>Google Keyboard unexpectedly falls back to the generic Google keyboard
when <b>Use system language</b>, but Google Keyboard doesn’t support any of
the languages selected in the system-language preferences. It should fall
back to American English.
<p>
You can work around this problem by adding at least one language that
Google Keyboard supports.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Accessibility</h4>
<ul>
<li>TalkBack exhibits issues with features including Notifications, Quick
Settings Tiles and Multi-window display that may cause system crashing or
lack of spoken feedback from TalkBack. Future releases of the preview will
address these issues.
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="dp1-device-sp">Device-Specific Notes and Issues</h3>
<h4>Nexus Player</h4>
<ul>
<li>Video playback, app compatibility and stability issues are expected on
Nexus Player in this release of the Preview.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Pixel C</h4>
<ul>
<li>Multi-window resizing may cause crashing.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Nexus 9</h4>
<ul>
<li>Nexus 9 devices may not start after receiving an over-the-air (OTA) update
via the Android Beta Program. To recover from this issue, you can try
to manually install the OTA image. For more information, see
<a href="{@docRoot}preview/download-ota.html">Applying a Device OTA Image</a>.
</li>
</ul>