We have not talked too much about Google’s Android Things, but we thought we would update you on the progress. Just a couple days ago, the third Developer Preview of Android Things was released. We have all of the latest information about Android Things Developer Preview 3, and what new features you can expect.
Android Things Developer Preview 3 Hits
While Android Things has not been something we have talked a lot about before, we wanted to update you on the progress of Android Things. The third Developer Preview of Android Things just was released by Google. Android Things is part of the Internet of Things platform, and the new third Developer Preview is adding, even more, features and tools.
Google asked for developer feedback after the second preview of Android Things, and one of the things that the developers were wanting was Bluetooth. It was just a couple months ago when the development team said that it was working on integrating the Bluetooth connectivity features. Well, now we can confirm that the third preview does include various Bluetooth connections. There are now two Bluetooth options for the existing Android APIs. One of these is the Low Energy option and the other is the Bluetooth Classic.
Not only will there be the USB host in this version, there will also be the ability to use custom USB products. When you look at the previous versions, there needed to be either Linux kernel support or root privileges. Now though, the USB host will work in a native aspect so you will not need either of those things. For many developers, this is great news, and it is also great news for the consumer when Android Things finally becomes available in the near future.
We are glad to see that Google is finally making the USB host part of Android Things, although you would like it would not have taken until the third Developer Preview for this to happen. Regardless though of the fact it took this long to get, at least Google realized the USB host was needed before the official release.
According to Google, the company is committed to providing the developers with these regular updates and previews. This will ensure that those developers that are working on the Internet of Things, including products and hardware, will be able to integrate effectively. This also will allow those Android developers out there to quickly build devices using both Google services and the Android APIs that are now available.
Hopefully, we will be able to tell you more about what to expect on this upcoming release, as we should be seeing more Developer Previews coming over the next several months. Google is committed to the Internet of Things and the Android part of this equation is a huge deal. We likely are going to see a ton of products that are using the Android APIs in their software and hardware, and Google is doing all it can to continue making changes and improvements to Android Things.
