Google releases Android Things Developer Preview 4 for IoT devices

Google decided not to wait for tomorrow’s start of its Google I/O conference to launch the latest developer version of its Android Things operating system. The company has released the fourth such preview version of the OS, which is designed to be used by Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Google says this new version will allow its supported IoT boards to access its Google Assistant SDK tools, which means that development boards like the Intel Edison, the NXP Pico i.MX6UL and the Raspberry Pi 3 can use the company’s voice-command digital assistant.

The fourth preview build also adds support for another developer board, the NXP i.MX7D. In addition, the company has released both the code and the hardware design files for the Intel Edison Candle.  This will be the first of a series of such releases by Google, which are supposed to show third-party OEMs how Android Things on the software side can work together with the appropriate hardware. Google says that the design files can be used by hardware makers to quickly fabricate the module.

Google will be showing off demos of Android Things software and hardware projects this coming week at Google I/O. In the meantime, if you are skilled in IoT projects, you can go ahead and download Developer Preview 4 images from the Android Things site. You might also want to join Google’s IoT Developers Community on Google+ to chat and learn from others who are working on Android Things.projects. There’s no word yet on when Google plans to launch a non-preview version of the OS.