A couple of weeks ago, Essential delivered a bad news-good news combo, saying that it was delaying the Essential Phone's Oreo update but that it'd release an Android 8.1 update instead of 8.0 as a result. Now the first 8.1 beta has been released to testers.

Essential says that it's now pushing Oreo Beta 8.1 to the Essential Phone over the air. The update includes dynamic calendar and clock icons, a slow-scrolling jitter fix, the February 2018 Android security patches, and more.

This update is only available to beta testers right now. If you're not already running a beta update on your Essential Phone, you can register for the beta right here.

It's disappointing that Essential Phone owners will have to wait longer than originally expected for their helping of Android Oreo, but at least Essential is making progress on its Oreo update with another beta release.