The final name for the Android operating system may remain up in the air — Oreo and Oatmeal Cookie are current favorites — but not the OS itself: Google Inc. Monday announced the fourth and final developer preview of Android O.

Developer Preview 4 contains “near-final system images” and is unlikely to change greatly between now and the final version set for release “later this summer.”

Those already enrolled in the Android Beta Program will receive an update notification on a compatible Pixel or Nexus device. If you held out downloading it until a more stable version of Android O was available, you can follow the download steps below.

Here’s a look at how to download Android O Developer Preview 4 and the new features available in the latest version:

How to install Android O

To get access to the Android O beta you will need to have a compatible Google device, including Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and Nexus Player devices. Make sure you backup your device before installing the beta.

On your compatible device, go to http://g.co/androidbeta > sign into your Google account > under Eligible devices section, tap the “Enroll Device” button > agree to the terms of the beta program > tap Join Beta. In the “System Update Available” notification, tap Download > follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation of the Android O beta.

Latest Android O features

Adaptive colors for notification dots

Google introduced notification dots as part of the public preview release of Android O in May. Notification dots is a small circle in the corner of an app icon that displays the number of notifications relating to that specific app. Despite experimenting with light blue dots in the last beta, beta 4 now includes adaptive colors for the dots, which will change depending on the app icon.  

Octopus Easter egg

To really confuse people, Google has introduced an Android Easter egg in the form of an octopus.

In the past, Google updated its Easter egg based on the sweet dessert that the operating system was named after, for example, jelly beans for Android 4.3. The inclusion of an octopus in Android O Developer Preview 4 has completely thrown people. Is the octopus and its eight tentacles merely a link to Android 8.0? Will Android move away from its sweet dessert naming convention? All will be revealed with the final release of Android O, likely out next month.  

Unlike previous Easter eggs, the octopus isn’t very interactive, but you can drag it around the screen, by tapping and holding its head.

Lockscreen and notification panel tweaks

Android O Developer Preview 4 brings some subtle changes to the lockscreen, including the date on the lockscreen that has changed from all uppercase to standard writing and the time is a smaller font size.

In the Android O status bar, the battery percentage has been removed from inside the battery icon and now sits beside the icon, which caused controversy with some users due to the extra space it now takes up. In Developer Beta 4 this change remains, but the battery percentage text has been made darker.

In Developer Preview 3, Google introduced a permanent notification that will alert users to any apps running in the background. This “Android System” notification has received a small tweak in the form of a new stats icon, rather than the previous check mark icon.

Media apps lose system notifications

The last preview also saw the introduction of a persistent notification for media apps like Google Play Music and Spotify, which has now been removed in the latest preview.

New icon for system apps

Google has updated the logo for all its system apps and iconless apps. The new icon features an Android’s head atop a teal cutting mat, which is a circular icon on the Pixel and a square with rounded corners on the Nexus device.

Disable notifications for screen overlay app

Android O introduced a notification to alert users when an app is displaying a screen overlay. The latest preview brings the option to hide these notifications. Open your Settings app and go to “Apps & notifications” > App info > tap the Menu icon (three dot icon), tap “Show system” > App notifications > toggle the “display over other apps” notification off.

Gboard for Android TV

Google has also introduced Gboard for Android TV, currently available in the Play Store for Android O users. Gboard replaces the Leanback Keyboard and comes with the benefit of faster updates and better stability. However, Google has opted to change the layout of the keyboard from QWERTY to an alphabetical layout.

Image: Blogtrepreneur; Flickr