Google has for several years now been providing the world with access to early preview builds of its latest versions of Android OS. It all started back in 2014 with Lollipop, then followed up with the Marshmallow OS in 2015. This year saw the Developer Preview of Android N arrive earlier than expected. Sadly, in order to take the plunge and explore the newest Android OS version's early preview, which is yet to be gifted to the general public, one has to have a current Nexus device.Though smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung and Sony are already making efforts to test the beta builds of their homegrown skinned preview versions for a few markets, it appears that Google has plans to officially allow its OEM partner devices to run on the Android N Developer Preview.Reddit user FUNExtreme made an interesting discovery in the HTML code used on the Google established Android N Preview page. Apparently there are a few things that may have gone unnoticed in the “What's New” section. The most notable include: “more supported devices, including devices from OEM partners” as well as “ Seamless OTAs for your devices, from initial release to final N release without flashing.”
In layman's terms, it appears that Google could indeed have plans to induct devices from other OEMs into its Android N Developer Preview program, and all this will possible without the need of flashing. This is welcomed news and is very comforting to owners of non-Nexus devices or anyone who wouldn't go for a Nexus device for that matter.
What's my model number?
There are several ways to locate your model number:
- Option 1
- On your device, go to Settings, then "About device" and scroll down to "Model number"
- Option 2
- Often times you can view the model number inside the device, by removing the battery
- Option 3
- Using Samsung's model/serial number location tool