Google has apparently been testing its forthcoming iteration of Android operating system 'Android O' on its ageing Motorola Nexus 6 while rumours abound that the former flagship handset could indeed get a new update. Although the device was recently spotted running Android O developer preview on Google Git, history beckons that the Nexus smartphone may not get this update after all, as was the case with the highly-rumoured Android 7.1.2 Nougat release.
Google had earlier tried a similar test with Android 7.1.2 on the Nexus 6, before releasing it to the latest flagship devices. Quite disappointingly, the new Nougat update was not supported on the Nexus 6.
Google is known to test new software versions on older devices to test their performance potential and identify bugs if any, before rolling out the same to its flagship devices. It does not necessarily mean that all test devices will end up receiving the latest and greatest Android releases.
For instance, the Nexus 5 handset also suffered a similar fate of not receiving the latest Nougat update after the device succeeded in running the test version.
To be precise, the Android maker had recently confirmed that the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 would not be receiving any more software releases following Android 7.1.1 update.
Consequently, it seems Google uses older devices to track bugs and performance issues before rolling out the final aka public release of the new update on its flagship smartphones.
Nevertheless, if you luckily own a Nexus 6P or Nexus 5X, you could go ahead and download the Android O developer preview 1 via factory images posted on the official developer portal. Here are the links:
Android O Developer Preview 1 for Nexus 6P
Android O Developer Preview 1 for Nexus 5X
[Source: Google Git]
