Kellen in FeaturedNews 1 year ago

Android 14 Beta 4 is Here for Pixel Devices!

Ohhhh, we’re getting so close to the official Android 14 release – Google just dropped the Android 14 Beta 4 on us. If you own a Pixel device, it’s time to get in on this fun. These later beta builds should be stable enough for daily use, folks.

As expected, Google released a new Android 14 beta build for July and it could be one of the last. If anything, this could very well be the last big Android 14 beta before this goes stable. There could always be a Beta 4.1 to tie up any loose ends, but yeah, we are well into platform stability and at the “near-final” stage of testing.

Android 14 Beta 4 Release Info

Release date: July 11, 2023
Build: UPB4.230623.005
Emulator support: x86 (64-bit), ARM (v8-A)
Security patch level: July 2023
Google Play services: 23.18.18

Android 14 Beta 4 Bug Fixes

Fixed a system issue that caused both notifications to stop appearing and Quick Settings tiles to stop working until the device was restarted.
Fixed system issues that sometimes caused VoIP apps to stop recording audio when the screen was locked or the app was put in the background.
Fixed an issue where the title of the currently playing song would abruptly disappear or be replaced with other information when transitioning a device from always-on-display mode to the lockscreen.
Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented devices from charging or allowed a device to charge but erroneously reported that there were issues with the connected charging cable or accessory.
Fixed a system issue that sometimes caused the Android System Intelligence service to crash.
Fixed an issue that caused the CredentialManager registry to fail when using more than one set of credentials.
Fixed issues where the HealthConnect API returned null pointer exceptions in some cases to calling apps.
Fixed issues that could cause boot loops and “Application not responding” messages on some devices.
Fixed an issue where some elements on the system UI didn’t retheme correctly when switching between day and night modes.
Fixed a system issue that caused the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) window to be unresponsive when using an app (such as Google Maps) in PiP mode and then locking the screen and reopening the app by tapping the notification on the lock screen.
Fixed an issue where the lockscreen wallpaper was sometimes reset to a blank, black screen when setting a new wallpaper for the home screen.
Fixed issues that caused poor UI animations in the launcher.
Fixed an issue where an intent picker dialog was incorrectly shown during work profile setup, which interfered with a user completing setup successfully.
Fixed an issue that caused the rounded borders on notifications to display incorrectly.
Fixed an issue where a device could sometimes become unresponsive if eSIM was disabled.
Fixed an issue where the lock screen sometimes got stuck with a blank, black screen.
Fixed an issue with ConnectivityService that could cause a device to crash and restart in rare cases.
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the system volume slider to be stuck on the screen.
Fixed issues where the titles of some Settings pages were not announced correctly and some areas within the system Settings app couldn’t be accessed when TalkBack was enabled.
Fixed an issue that could cause fingerprint enrollment to fail if the device was rotated during enrollment.
Fixed an issue where connected Bluetooth devices were not ranked correctly in the system audio output switcher.
Fixed an issue where the notification shade didn’t close after tapping a notification to launch an intent. Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the analog clock to fail to display when viewing wallpaper preview.
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused only a right-side Bluetooth earbud to be paired.
Fixed issues that prevented app launch animations from playing correctly.
Fixed an issue where notifications from a prioritized conversation were erroneously dismissed when the group of non-prioritized notifications was dismissed.
Fixed an issue where the sharesheet sometimes crashed after pressing the copy button.
Fixed an issue where the UI didn’t return to the sharesheet workflow if a user edited an image from the sharesheet.
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused Face Unlock to fail.
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused a USB headset to consume additional power when connected to a device that was making a call using Voice over LTE (VoLTE).
Fixed a null pointer exception that sometimes caused the launcher to crash after launching an app.
Fixed an issue where, when using a device with a work profile, the Google Play Store app in the work profile would hang or crash when launched.
Fixed various issues that caused the system UI to crash in some cases.
Fixed other various issues that were impacting system stability.

How to get Android 14 Beta 4 on your Pixel

Most of you have probably downloaded Android 14 Beta to your Pixel phone at this point if you are at all into testing new software. So if you already have it, the updates should be flowing shortly to the Pixel 4a 5G up through the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7a. We will also see a first beta for the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet. For those not sure how to get this latest 4 update, let’s talk about that.

The Android 14 Beta 4 is available to:

Pixel 4a (5G)
Pixel 5 and 5a
Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
Pixel 6a
Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro
Pixel 7a
Pixel Fold
Pixel Tablet

Easiest way: If you own one of those devices, the easiest way to get Android 14 Beta 4 on device is to sign-up for the Android Beta Program (here). You’ll simply click the “Opt In” button on that page to join and then sit back and wait for Google to push an update as Android 14 over-the-air.

Once you have enrolled, you’ll head into Settings>System>Advanced>System update to check for it. Google may not push it immediately and could instead roll it out slowly throughout the day. Either way, feel free to check through there to tell Google you want it after enrolling in the program.

Manual way: Want to get updated faster or would rather flash a factory image or OTA file through adb to feel more techie and important and smart? That’s still an option! I’ll be going the OTA route, but factory images are available too. You’ll find Android 14 Beta 4 factory images here and the OTA files here. For instructions on how to flash a factory image, here you go. For instructions on how to flash an OTA .zip file, here you go.

Already on an Android 14 Beta build: If you are already on an Android 14 beta build, Google says that you will receive the Beta 4 update over-the-air. Of course, you can manually flash a factory image or OTA file as well, since the over-the-air process often takes forever to process.

Previously Android 14 Beta releases:

// Android Developers Blog

This post was last modified on July 11, 2023 1:41 pm