Google’s Android 14 beta is almost over as the company prepares to officially release its next smartphone operating system. That’s because Google just dropped the latest (and probably last) Android 14 beta 4, giving users a taste of what’s to come.
Thefirst Android 14 developer previewarrived way back in February, earlier than expected. Since then, another update has come withnew features, changes,bug fixes, andmoreeach month.
Related:What I Really Want From Android 14
This week, Google released theJuly Android 14 beta 4, delivering a string of changes to the lock screen and unlock pattern, along with a massive list of bug fixes and performance enhancements. There’s a newAndroid 14 easter egg, volume control changes, and a new “speed boost” toggle in SIM settings, but we’re unsure what that’s actually for.
As you can see from Google’s initial timeline, the last two updates are about stability ahead of the global release date in August.
For a detailed breakdown of the many changes,Mishaal Rahman on Twitterhas a long thread that talks about what’s new and different and what we can expect once the software officially arrives.
Google’srelease notesspecifically mention around 27 bug fixes. If you were having problems with a previous version of the Android 14 developer preview or beta, now is likely agood time to try it again. Some of those fixes prevent boot loops and crashes, wallpapers resetting to a blank screen, weird animation glitches, patched a fingerprint scanner issue, solved some missing notification problems, and much more.
Related:If You Want to Try the Android 14 Beta, Now’s the Time to Do It
Additionally, those with Google’s new Pixel Fold or the Pixel Tablet canjoin the beta programand test Android 14, as this beta expands availability to those new devices.
This is the second and final “Platform Stability” software update and release for Android 14. However, there’s a decent chance Google will release another Android 14 beta 4.1 update near the end of the month, similar to last year during the Android 13 testing phase. Then, we expect one final announcement and the official Android 14 update to start rolling out for all eligible Pixel devices.
Expect details and announcements from other manufacturers, including Samsung, OnePlus, and more, later this year and in early 2024.
