Google today said that it has started rolling out the second developer preview of Android 7.1 Nougat for a small group of devices: LG’s Nexus 5X, Huawei’s Nexus 6P, HTC’s Nexus 9, and the Google-made Pixel C tablet. The new features in this update will be included in 7.1.1 when it becomes available to everyone sometime in December.

“Android 7.1.1 includes the developer features already available on Pixel and Pixel XL devices and adds optimizations and bug fixes on top of the base Android 7.1 platform,” Google vice president of engineering Dave Burke wrote in a blog post.

The first 7.1 developer preview included support for previously Pixel-only features like app shortcuts and image keyboards. It’s unclear what’s in this new release.

If you have one of the devices that’s eligible for this developer preview and you’ve signed up for the Android Beta Program, then Google will automatically send an over-the-air (OTA) update to your device “over the coming week,” Burke wrote. You can still sign up for the Android Beta Program if you want to test this OS release before it becomes available to everyone. And if you’d like, you can download images and flash them onto supported devices.

AI Weekly

The must-read newsletter for AI and Big Data industry written by Khari Johnson, Kyle Wiggers, and Seth Colaner.

Included with VentureBeat Insider and VentureBeat VIP memberships.

Google first released Android 7.0 Nougat for everyone in August, which is earlier than usual. But Google has sought to provide its partners with earlier access to its latest code this time around.

VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Learn More