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HMD Global announced today that there is now a beta of Android 8.1 Oreo available for the Nokia 2. It’s part of Nokia Mobile’s Beta Labs, which is a way for customers to sign up and get in on beta software updates – essentially help HMD Global test these new updates before they begin rolling out to the public. It’s pretty easy to sign up, and you can do so by hitting the link at the bottom of this post.

With this announcement, it means that HMD Global is bumping the Nokia 2 from Android 7.1.1 Nougat all the way up to Android 8.1 Oreo, skipping Android 8.0. That’s not something you see often on high-end smartphones that cost quite a bit more, so it’s rather nice to see it on a low-end device like the Nokia 2. The Nokia 2 was not part of the Android Go program (that launched with Android Oreo), but the Nokia 2 may be updated to an Android Go version of Oreo. HMD Global was not specific on that front, so we’ll have to wait and see when the updates begin rolling out to users. Keep in mind that this is the first beta of Android Oreo for the Nokia 2, so it’s likely going to have some bugs and not be all that stable. It also may not be rolling out to all Nokia 2 smartphones in the next few weeks, depending on what HMD Global finds with this build – depending on the bugs and other issues.

If you do want to sign up for Nokia Mobile’s Beta Labs, it’s pretty easy. Just hit the link below and then follow the process. It’s going to ask for your phone’s IMEI number. This number is important as it is what the development team uses to push the update to your device. So it’s important you provide it and make sure it is accurate. But it’s just that simple to sign up for the Beta Labs from Nokia Mobile and get started with Android Oreo on the Nokia 2.