Android v7.1.2 Nougat coming soon to Pixel and Nexus series phones; here's how to get a sneak peek at new update

Search engine giant Google on Monday announced that the company's Android team will soon release the new v7.1.2 Nougat to its Pixel and Nexus series devices.

The new Android v7.1.2 Nougat is an incremental update, which comes with a number of bugfixes and optimizations, along with latest security upgrades and a small number of enhancements for carriers and users.

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Before the official release of the Android 7.1.2. Nougat, the company, in a bid to weed out any remaining bugs that might have slipped past during trials, wants to test the software one final time with a select group of device owners via Android Beta Program.

"To get the recipe just right, starting today (January 30, 2017), we're rolling out a public beta to eligible devices that are enrolled in the Android Beta Program," Dave Burke, VP of Engineering, Google Android, said in a statement.

As of now, Google is seeding the new Android 7.1.2 Nougat beta to Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 5X, Nexus Player, and Pixel C devices. Huawei's Google Nexus 6P is also included in the beta program, but will be getting the software in coming weeks.

However, there is no word on Motorola's 2014 series Google Nexus 6.

As far as the public version is concerned, Google intends to release it in a couple of months.

Here's how to apply for Android Beta program:

Step 1: Log in to Android N Beta program webpage [HERE]

Step 2: Choose the devices you want to receive the Android N updates

Step 3: Click Enroll, read and agree to the terms of service, and then click OK

Once you've enrolled, your device will soon receive an OTA update. In most cases, you will not need to do a full reset of your data to move to Android N, but it's recommended that you back up any data you don't want to lose before enrolling the device.

Here's how to check for OTA update on Android phone:

Got Settings >> About phone >> check System updates

Device owners will receive the update notification. Select download and install the OS and the phone will automatically reboot and the Android N preview will be installed.

Upon the conclusion of the Developer Preview assignment, testers enrolled for the program will receive an official public version Android N update to their devices.

If the developer wants to quit from the Android Beta program mid-way, they can deregister their devices at any time from the Android Beta site. Before leaving, programmers are advised to back-up the data on the device.