These issues were not present on Canary 9! Error:Execution failed for task ':app:transformClassesWithDexBuilderForDebug'. Several issues arise (e.g., errors about signature-polymorphic method without -min-sdk-version >= 26)
Note: additional effort needed on rewriting code to avoid problematic Java libs for Android.
Using the Android Studio bundled Java 8 without hacks on a Debian GNU/Linux 9 (Stretch, stable, up-to-date).
Just started failing the Gradle sync immediately after the upgrade to Android Studio 3.0 Beta 1!
A project syncing and building OK when on Android Studio 3.0 Canary 9.