Android smartphone maker Essential has opened Android 8.0 Oreo beta access for its flagship handset, the Essential phone. The software was released for Pixel phones in August and hit the Galaxy S8 and S8+ earlier this month, so Essential is one of the first brands to get the update. Oreo comes with a bunch of significant changes, such as refreshed menus, badge notifications and improvements to speed and battery life.
As the software is still in beta, keen participants should be aware that it'll likely come with a few bugs -- Essential itself has already identified issues with Bluetooth stability and Android Auto -- and that installing it will require some technical savviness. You don't need to be a registered mobile developer to try it out, but its release means the stable version isn't too far away.
