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This week’s top stories: Android P DP4, Google’s RCS involvement, 5 reasons to buy Galaxy Note 8, more

In this week’s top stories: Google officially released the fourth Android P Developer Preview for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, a detailed explanation of RCS and Google’s involvement, five reasons why the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is still a worthwhile purchase, and much more.

Early Monday morning, Google released Android P Developer Preview 4 / Beta 3. With it, we saw a slew of new changes such as a new back button, gesture bar, and more.

A little over three weeks after the previous update, Google is today rolling out Android P Developer Preview 4. This release candidate build includes the final APIs and near-final system images for developers to continue testing app compatibility.

According to Android engineering VP Dave Burke, DP4 (Beta 3) is “very close to what you’ll see in the final version of Android P, due later this summer.”

This week we also took a deep dive into Android Messages, RCS, ‘Chat,’ and Google’s involvement in the entire thing.

Google last month introduced the highly anticipated ability to send and receive texts from the web. The feature reflects how Google is centering its messaging future around Android Messages and ultimately RCS. That standard, long touted as an upgrade to SMS, it is finally getting adoption from all the key players around the world and users are closer than ever to benefiting from it.

But as the world makes this shift, it can be a bit confusing to see what distinguishes Google’s Android Messages app and the RCS standard. Oh, and what’s that “Chat” thing I’ve heard about?

Lastly, we took a second look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and found more than five reasons why it is still a decent smartphone if you’re looking for an upgrade.

Looking back at Samsung’s return to form with the Note 8 last year, it’s clear that cost was a significant reason it was unable to receive our unhindered recommendation in our initial review.

In this week’s Friday 5, we’re going to take a look at why the Note 8 is now a more compelling option for the budget-conscious tech enthusiast even with the flagship field being a packed one.

These and the rest of this week’s top stories below:

Android | 

Accessories |

Apps |

Google |

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Avatar for Justin Duino Justin Duino

I’m a writer for 9to5Google with a background in IT and Android development. Follow me on Twitter to read my ramblings about tech and email me at justin@jaduino.com. Tips are always welcome.