Android Q Beta: What’s new for the Google Pixel smartphones Another year, another new Android release. The smartphone industry is constantly evolving, and this year in particular is gearing up to be one of the most exciting for enthusiasts. Android, being a core element of this ever-changing industry, also must adapt to new trends. This couldn’t be truer for Android Q, the newest version of the Android platform. Google finally pulled the trigger and released the very first Android Q beta build for the entire Pixel family of smartphones—the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel, and Pixel XL. At first glance, Android Q might seem like more of the same. After all, it’s nearly identical, UI-wise, to Android Pie. But it’s also bringing so many under-the-hood changes that we can’t help but be excited about it. You could say that Android Q is to Android Pie as Android Marshmallow was to Android Lollipop. A refinement-focused update that, instead of bringing unnecessary UI and UX changes, brings new features, improvements, and changes based on user feedback. Believe me: there’s a lot of stuff to be excited about on Android Q. Today, we’re doing a deep dive on Android Q’s first publicly available beta to uncover all of the little things and features that Google’s latest OS will be including. This list does not include the features that Google officially shared in their blog post, nor will we talk about any of the new APIs and platform changes that affect developers. This post is all about what Google didn’t talk about it; the changes you have to flash the beta build to see for yourself. We also have a 17 minute video overview covering most, but not all, of the changes we’ve written about below. System-wide Dark Mode Possibly the biggest, most anticipated feature of Android Q is a system-wide dark mode. We’ve been expecting this feature to come to Android ever since Android Lollipop introduced Material Design and its blindingly white UI elements in 2014. We got a sneak peek of it during the first Android M betas all the way back in 2015 before it was removed without explanation. Then it came back the next year with the Android N betas, but once again, it didn’t make it to the release version of Android Nougat. Fast forward to another year later and we (sort of) got it with Android 8.1 Oreo: if you set up a dark wallpaper, the notification shade, the launcher, and other UI elements would turn dark as well. With Android Pie, this option became user-toggleable, and users would be able to turn this partial dark mode on and off on demand regardless of their wallpaper’s color. Granted, it was a far cry from an actual dark mode as 99% of UI elements outside of the launcher and the notification shade remained white, but hey, it was better than nothing at all. With Android Q, an actual dark mode seems to be happening at long last. The Android Q beta includes a system-wide dark mode which themes the notification shade, the actual notifications, the Settings app, and the entire SystemUI, and turns most UI elements from white to dark gray and AMOLED black. Not only that, but it can also force this dark mode throughout the entire operating system, including user-downloaded apps regardless of whether they have a dark mode or not. Some apps will look awesome and some will look terrible: your mileage may vary. While a setting to enable this dark theme was present in the leaked Android Q alpha build we uncovered a couple of months ago, it has since been removed. The reason is unknown, but we’re guessing it’s still in development and they’re hiding it away until it’s more polished. However, this dark mode is definitely still there. It can be enabled by turning on Battery Saver mode, but if you don’t feel like having Battery Saver always on and you have access to a computer (and minimal ADB skills while you’re in that, too), you can toggle it on and off by following this tutorial. Theming Android and theme engines have a funny story. Previously, the concept of system themes was reserved to OEM skins like EMUI and TouchWiz and custom ROMs like CyanogenMod. It remained foreign to stock Android users. Then, with the advent of Layers and its successor, Substratum, theming stock Android became a real possibility: by leveraging built-in theming platforms like OMS and RRO, root users were able to theme many aspects of their UI/UX the way they wanted to. This became more accessible as Android Oreo baked OMS into AOSP and the Substratum developers released Andromeda, an add-on allowing non-root users to theme their stock systems. Andromeda’s momentum was quickly cut off with the release of the March 2018 security patch, restricting the installation of overlays to system apps and thus ending rootless theming. A workaround was then found and Substratum theming is currently possible, but it’s definitely not practical for everyone. As of today, AOSP Android does not have a built-in full-fledged theming solution of any kind. This is not changing with Android Q, but at least they are opening the doors to more customization. In a similar fashion to OxygenOS, Android Q now allows users to customize their accent color and font. Granted, it does not bring as much choice as OxygenOS. While OnePlus’ customization skin features the entire palette of colors, we only have black, green, and purple accent colors on Android Q. It’s a big step in the right direction, though, and there is a very real possibility we’ll get to see other colors soon. Additionally, Adaptive Icons functionality is being extended to other UI elements: once exclusive to launcher icons, it’ll now change the shape of things like Quick Settings icons and Google’s search bar, too. Lastly, they’ve included a single font choice for Noto Serif/Source Sans Pro. You can see more about this here. System Feature Flags Android Pie added a new “Feature Flags” page in Developer Options. Android Q retains that page, but expands on it with more flags. Here’s a summary of what some of the disabled flags do when enabled (or at least, what we think they do): settings_aod_imagewallpaper_enabled: Allows the wallpaper to be briefly shown on the always on display. The Google Pixel 3 has this on Android Pie, but the Pixel 2 does not. settings_audio_switcher: Adds a new icon to media playback notifications letting you quickly switch audio output. More info below. settings_bluetooth_hearing_aid: Enables you to pair a Bluetooth hearing aid. settings_global_actions_grid_enabled: Changes the layout of the power menu. settings_mobile_network_v2: Reportedly enables Dual SIM, Dual Standby on the Pixel 3. settings_screenrecord_long_press: Enables the built-in screen recorder in SystemUI, accessed by long-pressing the screenshot option in the power menu. More info below. Media Playback The most interesting feature flag from earlier, audio switcher, adds a button to media playback notifications (left) that, when pressed, brings up a settings slice that lets you switch audio output (right). Desktop Mode Android on desktop is a concept that has existed for years. With projects like Android-x86 and Remix OS, you’ve been able to use Android on a desktop environment for a while now. Recently, however, it has been picking up steam. Some time ago, Chrome OS added Android app support, giving Chromebooks the ability to access the Google Play Store and take advantage of the Android app ecosystem. Additionally, Samsung’s flagship smartphones and tablets come with Samsung DeX functionality—users can plug their phones to a display and unveil an Android-based desktop environment. With Android Q, it looks like a desktop mode similar to DeX could be coming to AOSP Android as well. Right now, it’s not really in a comfortably usable state, but it’s definitely getting there. There is a desktop interface with an app drawer, and you can drag shortcuts into the desktop. Apps are launched in freeform windows, a feature which was first introduced with Android Nougat. Android Q’s native desktop mode. We expect to see this desktop mode receive further improvements throughout the next few betas. We’ve covered this desktop mode in further detail here. Accessibility<doc-sep>Google has released the first preview of Android Q to developers today in what’s become the annual tradition of an early March look at the next major version of Android. As is usually the case, today’s release is really meant for developers only. Most of the bigger, front-facing changes that will affect users likely aren’t here yet, although Google says that the new update will bring some interesting changes, like better privacy controls and native support for foldable phones. Available today for any Pixel device The first beta of Android Q is available now for any Pixel device, including the first-gen Pixel and Pixel XL — Google says it extended support to those models due to popular demand — but you should probably avoid installing it on your main device. But even if Google is saving features for later announcements like Google I/O, the early preview still gives us a valuable look at what Google is updating with Android Q. Related The best early features of Android Q One major change coming to Q is an additional privacy setting for location access that will let users limit apps to only pull that information while the app is in use, instead of just giving a blanket switch to for apps to either always have location access or never have it. Google is also putting new limits on the access apps will get to things like photos, videos, and audio as well as any downloaded files on devices. Also coming in Q is better support for foldable phones, which is something that Google already promised back in November. Q is getting better support for resuming and pausing apps from running in the background as well as improvements to resizing apps for split-screen modes, all of which should be helpful for when the first foldable devices like the Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X are released later this year. Another neat feature is a new Settings Panel API, which will let developers give instant, pop-up access to phone settings like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NFC without having to kick users out to the settings app and back. The idea is that if you’re, say, setting up a Bluetooth speaker, your configuration app would be able to pop up the device’s native Bluetooth panel to turn on the radios and connect right from the app. Google is also finally, finally improving the share sheet in Android Q, allowing developers to pre-publish how their apps work with sharing, meaning that the share UI can load instantly instead of having to manually rebuild all the possible options every time. It’s a small change, but one that should make Android Q far more enjoyable to use. There’s also some new photo and video options in Q: Google is standardizing how depth map images with work with Android through a new Dynamic Depth format that contains a JPEG image, depth metadata, and a depth map bundled together. Developers will be able to pull Dynamic Depth images from devices with cameras that support it, meaning that it’ll be easier for third-party apps to offer specialized blurs and bokeh options. Google also announced that Android Q is getting support for the next-generation AV1 video codec, which should offer improved streaming quality with less bandwidth once content providers start supporting it. There is one thing that’s missing from Android Q, though: Google has given no hint about which Q-named snack the operating system will eventually be named after, although the company certainly has an uphill battle ahead of it. Update March 13th, 4:05pm: Updated post to reflect that Android Q Beta 1 is now available to download.<doc-sep>Android Q is here for the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, and Pixel 3 XL The wait is finally over—OTA files and factory images are going live for the first public Android Q beta. If you’re the lucky owner of a Google Pixel, Google Pixel XL, Google Pixel 2, Google Pixel 2 XL, Google Pixel 3, or Google Pixel 3 XL (yes – all three Pixel generations are being supported), then you have the opportunity to test the next major Android version right now by either flashing the update manually or enrolling in the beta and receiving the update over the air. Android 10 Q brings a number of new feature additions including a system-wide dark mode and a revamp in permission management. The first beta release is available today while the final release is expected to land in early August. Keep in mind that this first preview is aimed at developers. Google gives developers the chance to test their apps against new Android platform APIs months before the next Android version becomes available for the general public. This first release won’t have all the new software features you’ll come to associate with Android Q. Google will likely unveil a bunch of new features at Google I/O 2019 which starts May 7th. We’ll of course be extensively covering Android Q, because we know our readers can’t wait to get their hands on an official release or a custom ROM. For now, though, Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 3 users can enjoy the release before anyone else. Download Android Q Beta 1 for the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, or Pixel 3 XL You can download the OTA image files to directly update from the latest March 2019 security patch release for the Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, and Pixel 3 XL. If you have an unlocked bootloader and have modified the boot image to install TWRP or Magisk, you’ll need to flash the factory image file. General instructions on how to do so can be found in the next section. Be sure to join the forums for the Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 3 devices if you’re interested in discussing the Android Q releases. Google Pixel ForumsGoogle Pixel XL Forums Google Pixel 2 ForumsGoogle Pixel 2 XL Forums Google Pixel 3 ForumsGoogle Pixel 3 XL Forums If you install the update and notice something new that we haven’t already found, send us a tip and you could get a free month of XDA Ad-Free if we write an article based on your tip! Also if you install the update, be sure to check out the feedback and bug report page. Google is also monitoring a new subreddit on Reddit for feedback. How to install Android Q Beta 1 on the Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, or Pixel 3 XL If your device is rooted or you’ve made any changes to the system or vendor partitions, you’ll need to install Android Q using a factory image. If you haven’t unlocked the bootloader yet and are on the latest Android Pie release, then you can sideload the OTA to save some time. Before you begin, set up ADB and Fastboot by following this tutorial. OTA Image Download the right OTA file for your device from the table above. With your phone booted into Android and plugged into your PC, open a command prompt or terminal window in the same directory where you stored the ADB binary. Enter the following command to enter recovery mode: Windows Command Prompt: adb reboot recovery Windows PowerShell: .\adb reboot recovery macOS/Linux terminal: ./adb reboot recovery Once in recovery mode, select “apply update from ADB.” Enter the following command to sideload the Android Q OTA update file: Windows Command Prompt: adb sideload ota_file.zip Windows PowerShell: .\adb sideload ota_file.zip macOS/Linux terminal: ./adb sideload ota_file.zip where “ota_file.zip” is the name of the OTA file you downloaded in step 1. Reboot the phone by choosing the “reboot system now” option. Factory Image Download the Android Q factory image for your device from one of the links in the table above. Extract the factory image file. In the folder, you’ll see a bootloader image, a radio image, a zip file, one Windows batch file, and two .sh script files. If you don’t care about wiping all your data and just want to update right away, then go ahead and double click on flash-all.bat if you’re on Windows or flash-all.sh if you’re on macOS/Linux (after making it executable). If you want to flash the factory image without wiping your data, then edit the flash-all.bat script (Windows) or flash-all.sh script (macOS/Linux) in a text editor and remove the “-w” command from the “fastboot -w update” line. Then, you can proceed to start the flash-all script. If you want to see screenshots of each step, this guide will help you. Although it was written to help users flash monthly security patch updates, the steps are the same to flash a major Android release. Android Q, here we come! A number of writers on our team, myself included, have already begun installing Android Q on our Pixel devices. We will be documenting the new features that we find in the first preview release. Thanks to an early leak, we’ve managed to uncover a lot of details about Android Q weeks before release. Be sure to follow our Android Q tag for all the latest news on the next major Android version. Here are the articles I recommend you start with to get up to speed:<doc-sep>
Screenshot : Gizmodo Android Q is here—in an early, beta form—and if you’ve got any generation of Pixel phone on hand then you can give it a test run. We’ve been playing around with the beta edition, and these are the most significant changes we’ve spotted, alongside the new features Google has been trailing. If you want to install Android Q for yourself, you’ll need a Pixel phone—even the first generation handsets have been included in the beta. Head to the official Android Beta for Pixel page, click View your eligible devices, and you should see your Pixel phone listed: Click Opt in to install the beta. The usual caveat about beta versions applies here—expect a lot of bugs, a lot of crashes, and a lot of weird behavior from your apps. We wouldn’t recommend installing this on a phone you rely on every day, in other words. You should also check your dark mode setting before installing, as you can’t change it in Android Q yet (see the first section below). Screenshot : Gizmodo Signing up for and installing the beta version of Android Q won’t wipe your phone or get rid of any apps or data, and if you don’t do anything you’ll continue to get beta updates over the air and then the final, stable version of Android Q when it’s ready. If you want to go back to Android 9 Pie before that happens, it only takes a couple of clicks on the same Android Beta for Pixel website, but in this instance your phone, apps, and data will be completely erased—so you’ll need to start again with a fresh phone. We’ve taken the plunge and here’s what we’ve noticed so far, with thanks to the fine folks at Android Police, 9to5Google and XDA Developers for helping us uncover some of these new features and options. 1) Dark mode is here—but you can’t toggle it Screenshot : Gizmodo Android 9 Pie makes a half-hearted attempt at dark mode—it’s under Display, Advanced and Device theme in Settings—but it’s much more extensive and complete in Android Q. As yet though, there’s no actual dark mode toggle switch, so make sure you’ve set the theme the way you like it before you abandon Android 9 Pie (there’s a workaround here). 2) Notification swipes and bell icons Screenshot : Gizmodo Small but potentially significant: Android Q only lets you dismiss notifications with a swipe to the right. Previously a swipe to the left or the right would dismiss them, but now a swipe to the left brings up the notification options. Oh, and there’s a new ringing bell icon that lets you identify the newest alert when you’ve got a whole bunch of them up on screen. 3) More notification options Screenshot : Gizmodo Here’s another change to notifications in the Android Q beta. If you long-press on a notification you get three options: Block, Show silently, and Keep alerting. That silent mode (where notifications appear without an accompanying noise or vibration) was available in Android 9 Pie too, but you couldn’t get at it from the notifications themselves. 4) Android adds theming Screenshot : Gizmodo Android Q brings with it the first signs of native theming for the operating system. Enable developer options (with seven taps on Build number in About phone in Settings), then from Settings choose System, Advanced, and Developer options—you’ll see theming options for the accent color, system fonts, and icon shape down at the bottom of the list. 5) Screenshots support notches and corners Screenshot : Gizmodo A potentially significant change if you take a lot of screenshots on your Android devices (like we do)—screenshots now include notches and rounded corners as black cutouts, more closely matching the actual look of your screen. It’s possible that an option to toggle this feature on and off might appear in future Android Q beta releases as time goes on. 6) Access system settings more easily Screenshot : Google Apps will sometimes ask you to change something in Settings—like switching to an ad hoc wifi network when setting up a smart home kit—and in Android Q you don’t have to jump over to Settings and back again. Apps are now able to request that certain settings pop up in a floating window, which means you can get back to what you were doing more easily.