Hands-on with Android O Developer Preview 3: colorful notifications, UI tweaks, and Android 8.0 confirmed [Video]

After entering beta at I/O 2017 a few weeks ago, Google today released Developer Preview 3 of Android O. Bringing several changes to the UI and introducing the final API level coming to the official build later this summer, it’s a pretty significant update.

Best of all, Developer Preview 3 finally confirms that yes, Android O will be version 8.0.

We’ve already rounded up the new features in Developer Preview 3, but to summarize some of the changes made:

• API level 26 introduces the bug fixes and optimizations we can expect from the final build of Android 8.0, as well as allowing developers to release apps targeting Android O to the Google Play Store.
• The System UI tuner lost a few menus, leaving just cuztomizations for the status bar and Do Not Disturb mode.
• The Google Camera UI saw a few tweaks, adding video/photo switching buttons (though you can still switch modes by swiping across the screen as well), and refreshing the camera switcher icon.
• The WiFi and cellular icons, previously rearranged in Developer Preview 2 and met with unfavorable reactions, have been moved back to their original positions in the status bar.
• Persistent media notifications now match the prominent colors in album art and video thumbnails, and fade the image into the rest of the notification.

To try Developer Preview for yourself, head to developer.android.com to download the factory image for your device, or sign up for the Android Beta Program to receive the preview as an over-the-air update.