Good news! If you’re an owner of the Sony Xperia Z3 you can now try out the Android N Developer Preview.
There are 2 variants of Xperia Z3 that can be flashed with Android N Developer Preview, D6603 and D6653. Here’s how to get started:
- Connect your compatible Z3 device to a computer with a USB cable.
- Xperia Companion will open automatically
- Make sure you have Xperia Companion version 1.1.24 or later. If not, download the latest version from here.
- Hold down the ALT key on your computer and click on Software repair on the home screen, then follow the guide.
- You’ll be asked to disconnect and turn off your device, then to reconnect whilst holding down the volume down key to start the software flashing.
- You can return to factory settings at any time by connecting back to Xperia Companion and following the Software repair
What’s new in Android N Developer Preview?
Android N introduces several great new features for developers, with more to be added as Google continue to develop the Android N release. Here are some highlights:
Multi-window – This new multitasking feature lets users view two apps or Activities at the same time, with the system resizing them as needed to fit the device or tablet screen. All apps targeting Android N are resizeable unless they opt-out, so make sure your layouts and resources are optimized.
Bundled notifications – You can use the Notification.Builder.setGroup() method to group your app’s notifications together for easier scanning.
Direct reply notifications – Use the RemoteInput notification API to enable users to respond quickly to notifications, without leaving the notification shade.
Efficiency – Adapt your apps to use Doze to save even more power in Android N. There are also new behaviors in Project Svelte, aiming to reduce the memory needs of Android.
