Google unveils First Public Beta of Android 14

Google has announced the first public Beta of Android 14 with new features focused on system navigation, privacy, performance, and user customisation to both developers and early adopters. Among the features, a new back arrow has been updated under the gesture navigation to help improve back gesture understanding and usefulness while interacting with users’ apps.

At this time, the Android 14 beta 1 upgrade may be downloaded on the Pixel 4a and any devices released after it. Those individuals who do not own a Pixel smartphone may still access the same features on the Android emulator by configuring a virtual device to experience Android 14 in the user interface of a smartphone or a tablet. Last but not least, there is also the possibility to download a generic system image (GSI) build and then install it on Treble-compliant devices. These smartphones include those manufactured by OnePlus, Xiaomi, Honor, and Asus, among others.

Users that register their devices in the Pixel programme are eligible to submit an application for the beta build. Users also have the ability to manually flash the system image after downloading it, and the size of the update is around 2.15 gigabytes.

The firm has provided a roadmap, which indicates that Android 14 will remain in the beta phase for the next two months, after which the company will stabilise the operating system throughout the months of June and July. By August 2023, compatible devices will get the final stable version of Android 14.