Google has finally released the stable version of Android 9.0 Pie, and it’s already available for Pixel phones. If you happen to own a Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, or Pixel 2 XL, you can install the Android Pie update right now. Method 1: Download the OTA update To try out Android Pie on your Pixel, head over to your phone’s settings menu, select System, System update, then Check for update. If the over-the-air update is available for your Pixel, it should automatically download. Reboot your phone after the update has installed, and you’ll be running Android Pie in no time! If you don’t want to wait for the OTA update, we’ve got instructions for you on how to install Android Pie via factory images and OTA files. Method 2: Flashing Android 9.0 Pie on your device Flashing Android Pie on your device takes more time and work than the OTA method. If you don’t want to install the over-the-air update for some reason, you can sideload the factory image or OTA file manually. Here’s how to do it: Download the proper files Google has already posted Android Pie factory images and OTA files for all four Pixel phones. You’ll need to download the proper file for your device before you get started. Download Android Pie factory images Download Android Pie OTA images Here’s what you need to get started: A compatible Pixel device and a USB cable to connect it to your computer. The Android SDK installed on your machine with ADB and Fastboot command successfully working — check the tutorial here. 7zip or a similar program that can handle .tgz and .tar files. An unlocked bootloader on your phone. Unlocking your phone’s bootloader Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. The first thing you have to do is unlock your phone’s bootloader by following the step-by-step instructions below. It’s easy to do and does not require lots of technical knowledge. Unlocking the bootloader will wipe all the data off your device, so make sure you back it up first. Step-by-step instructions: Turn on developer options by going to “About Phone” and tapping “Build Number” seven times. Enable USB debugging and OEM unlock on your device in the “Developer options” section. Plug in the Pixel to your PC with a USB cable. Open the command window on your PC. Boot your Pixel device into bootloader mode using the following command: adb reboot bootloader (if it requests you to authorize this, say yes). When your device boots into bootloader mode, type in this command: fastboot flashing unlock. A confirmation screen will pop up. Press the volume up key to highlight yes and the power button to start the bootloader unlocking process. Once unlocked, your device will reboot into bootloader mode. Now you simply need to type in fastboot reboot to finish the process. Flash Android Pie on your Pixel device Flashing Android P on your smartphone is pretty straightforward, but you can still run into problems if you don’t carefully follow instructions listed below. Step-by-step instructions: Head into the bootloader menu to test that your device and PC are communicating by typing in fastboot devices — if it comes back with your device’s serial number, you’re good to go. Prepare the factory image you downloaded earlier. Use 7zip to extract the .tgz file you downloaded and then again to extract the .tar file you extracted from the .tgz. This will create a folder with several files in it. Copy all those files and paste them in the platform-tools folder in the Android SDK on your computer. You should find it in the Program Files (x86) folder on Windows. There are two flash-all files. Windows users should double-click the one that has the gear logo and says “Windows Batch File” on the right. If you’re on Linux, double-click the flash-all.sh. A box will pop up and you should see the installation taking place. While this is going on, do not unplug your device for any reason! When the installation process has finished, your device will automatically reboot. You can then disconnect your device from your computer and start playing with Android P. What if the Flash-all method didn’t work? For whatever reason, not everyone has luck with the Flash-all scripts. If they fail for you, there’s another way. It’s actually pretty simple. First, make sure you are still in the proper bootloader state and connected to your PC. On your PC you’ll want to type the following: First we flash the bootloader with the following command: fastboot flash bootloader .img Next type: fastboot reboot-bootloader Now we flash the radio with the following command: fastboot flash radio .img Next type: fastboot reboot-bootloader Flash the image with : fastboot flash -w update .zip After this your device may reboot automatically, if not type: fastboot reboot So that’s how to install Android Pie on your Pixel. Any thoughts or questions? Leave them down below in the comments section. Next: Google launches Digital Wellbeing beta for Pixel owners on Android Pie<doc-sep>After five developer previews over an equal number of months, Google announced today that Android 9 is officially out of beta. Named “Pie,” third-party manufacturers can begin preparing device updates following the final release to AOSP. In the meantime, Android Pie is rolling out now to the Google Pixel and Pixel 2. Android 9 is a major yearly update with Google focusing on “Simplicity” and “Intelligence” in this initial release, with “Digital Wellbeing” coming in the fall. This version introduces new gesture-based system navigation, beginning with a nav bar that primarily features a pill-shaped home button. Simplicity A swipe up opens the new Overview screen that uses vertical cards to provide full-screen previews of applications. Swiping the pill to the right anywhere in Android — including the homescreen — will quickly take users to their last used app. This is meant to replace the now removed multitasking button. Meanwhile, continuing to hold the home button will allow users to vertically scroll through all recent apps. On the Pixel Launcher, this new Overview also features a Search bar and dock of five app “Suggestions.” In this card view, users can leverage Smart Text Selection to highlight text and quickly copy or take actions on addresses and phone numbers. Similarly, Pie features a new magnifier that makes selecting an exact point of text easier. Split screen is still accessible from this screen by holding down on a card’s app icon to reveal a menu. Quick Settings have been redesigned with a rounded panel now housing the first six toggles. From the full pane, Google unfortunately removed the ability to hold down on individual settings to access an in-line list of Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth devices, and more. The toggles can only be tapped on/off or held down to open the full page in the Settings app, which has been redesigned on the Pixel and Pixel 2. With colorful icons, there is now a ‘Recently sent’ notifications list that’s a part of Digital Wellbeing to aid users in managing device usage. The Battery Saver is now more subtle with the status and navigation bar no longer bright orange. Instead, only the battery icon receives an orange outline and plus sign to note that the mode is on. A number of system settings have been tweaked, like volume controls. The physical rocker defaults to adjusting the media volume, while there is quick access to mute and vibrate-only sound modes. Holding down on the home button offers a new screenshot shortcut, while Android Pie has a new Markup tool to quickly crop and doodle on images. Auto-rotate makes use of a new rotation confirmation button that appears in the navigation bar to manually rotate the screen. Various icons throughout Android 9 have been revamped to match the Google Material Theme. Especially evident in Quick Settings, icons are now bold outlines with hollowed out centers. Notifications have been redesigned with a more optimized interface for messaging. You’re able to continue conversations right from alerts that can now feature inline images and smart reply suggestions from apps. Intelligence On the “Intelligence” front, Adaptive Battery uses machine learning models from Alphabet’s DeepMind division to prioritize power resources to your actively used apps and services. Adaptive Brightness also uses ML to find your preferred settings based on surroundings to minimize users having to manually adjust the slider. App Actions above the app drawer anticipate upcoming tasks with smart suggestions. This includes calling suggestions, directions to navigate home, and other shortcuts like a music playlist when you plug-in headphones. This fall, Google will launch Slices to surface parts of an app right in Google Search. For example, entering “Lyft” in the Search bar will bring up shortcuts to Home and Work that note driver ETA, pricing, and can quickly order the ride. Searching “Hawaii,” can bring up a carousel of your images from Google Photos. Pie now supports devices with notches or “display cutouts,” along with multi-camera support given the trend of dual-sensor arrays. One unfortunate downside to notches is that even devices without a cutout can only show four icons in the status bar before dots appear to note that other alerts are present. There is also support for HDR VP9 Video and HEIF image compression. Meanwhile, unified biometric authentication — that supports iris and face unlock — results in a standardized password prompt even in third-party apps. Digital Wellbeing While Digital Wellbeing is not launching until this fall, as we previously noted, Google is making a beta available for Pixel devices starting today. Accessible from Settings, a new Dashboard breaks down exactly how you use a device. This includes time spent in apps, number of received notifications, and how many times you unlock your phone. With the App Timer, you can set limits on applications with “nudges” alerting you when you’re close, as well as grayed out launcher icons for the rest of the day. Do Not Disturb silences all visual interruptions that pop up, in addition to phone calls and texts. Wind Down mode will fade the screen into grayscale as you get ready to fall asleep to discourage pre-slumber device usage. Users can explore usage by app with hourly and daily graphs. These pages will also include shortcuts to adjust an app’s notification settings, while developers can integrate more detailed breakdowns with deep links into in-app settings. For example, YouTube will soon gain a “Time watched” stats page after adding “Take a break” alerts. Availability Android 9 Pie is rolling out today for the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL. Google has posted the factory and OTA images for those who don’t want to wait for the automatic update. If you need help, check out our guides on how to flash a factory image or sideload an OTA. With eight phones in the Android P Beta, Google notes that devices from Sony Mobile, Xiaomi, HMD Global, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, and Essential will be updated by the “end of this fall.” Qualifying Android One phones are also included in this time frame, while Google is working with other manufacturers to launch or upgrade devices to Pie in 2018. Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news: FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:<doc-sep>Pure Android Google Pixel 4 XL Get the newest Android update ASAP If you want to make sure you're first-in-line for Android updates as they become available, the Pixel 4 XL is the phone for you. It's currently running the latest build of Android 10 and will keep getting updates through October 2022. On the hardware front, it has a 90Hz AMOLED display, excellent cameras, and fast performance. From $818 at Amazon From $900 at Best Buy What kind of reviews did Android Pie get? Android Pie wasn't the most revolutionary update we've ever seen in the Android space, but all of the smaller changes and tweaks it introduced added up for a (mostly) great user experience. VPN Deals: Lifetime license for $16, monthly plans at $1 & more Pie was the first version of Android in which Google tried its hand at gesture-based navigation, resulting in the two-button system that was quickly replaced a year later with Android 10. It also added things like Adaptive Battery, revamped notifications, an API for managing multiple camera lenses, and more. A lot of Pie's features and fixes were smaller in scale, but that wasn't a bad thing by any means. Pie strived to refine Android and simplify it, making it a piece of software that's still perfectly enjoyable to use nearly two years after its release. Android 9 Pie review: Greater than the sum of its slices Is Android Pie available for my phone yet? At this point in Android Pie's life cycle, your phone is more than likely already running the software or has since been updated to Android 10. Similarly, if your phone has yet to be upgraded from Android 8.0 Oreo or an earlier version, you shouldn't hold your breath for a Pie update. Manufacturers have since moved past Pie and onto newer software builds, meaning the ship has pretty much sailed at this point. Will my phone get Android 9 Pie in 2020? What was the deal with Android Pie's gestures? Back in 2011 with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Google introduced Android's iconic three-button navigation system we've come to know and love – Back, Home, and Recents. With Android Pie, they were eliminated in favor of a gesture-based system. Android Pie was the first time Google heavily relied on gestures for navigating the UI, and if you had a phone with Pie (or if it's still running Pie), they worked as follows: Tap the Home button/pill to go home Swipe up to access the recent apps page Swipe up twice or do a long swipe for the app drawer The Back button only appears in certain apps/menus when it's needed This combination of taps and swipes proved to be rather confusing, and while it was fairly easy to get used to how everything worked, we're thrilled Google decided to go with 100% gestures in Android 10. How to master the new Android Pie gestures Android 10 gesture FAQ: How to use it and how to disable it What were some of Android Pie's best features? As noted above, Android Pie wasn't all that revolutionary. However, while it didn't completely rewrite the rule book, it did bring plenty new to the table that still exists in Android 10 and 11. For starters, Pie made Android's user interface more colorful and rounded the way that it is today. It added colorful icons to the settings page, the Quick Settings shortcuts were changed to circles, and rounded corners were present everywhere. It was quite the visual change compared to Oreo, but in 2020, it's just how Android naturally looks. Android Pie is the first time we got to use Google's Digital Wellbeing tools, which aimed to help us use our phones less and be more present with the world around us. The update also gave us things like Adaptive Battery and recommended apps in the app drawer. Is Android 10 available yet? On September 3, 2019, Google released Android 10 to the masses. Android 10 was very much so an evolution of what was started with Android 9 Pie, and the end result was a darn great OS update. Android 10 got rid of Pie's two-button navigation in favor of a fully gestural one, dark mode was finally introduced, and permissions became more powerful than ever before. Pie has since been replaced on most Android devices in favor of Android 10, but as we'll talk about in just a second, even more changes are coming soon. Android 10: Everything you need to know! When will my phone get Android 10? Android 10 review, one year later: Testing the big releases Okay — what about Android 11? Although Android 10 is currently the latest public build of Android, that'll be changing very soon. Android 11 is in the developer preview stage, with a public beta expected to launch any day now. Android 11 is looks to be another update filled with small changes and tweaks, this time focusing on things like messaging improvements, more permission upgrades, and better support for foldables and 5G. There are some fun things like a built-in screen recorder, but all things considered, Android 11 is another evolutionary update the same way Android 10 before it was. Android 11: Everything you need to know!<doc-sep>
Android Pie is here for the Google Pixel & Google Pixel 2 It doesn’t seem like Android P has been around for too long, but the first Developer Preview dropped about 5 months ago. In that time, Google has released 4 Android Beta updates. This has been one of Google’s biggest version updates to date. They’ve introduced a ton of new features and tweaks. After the last developer preview, Android P was widely expected to reach its final build this month, and now that day has arrived. Android 9.0 Pie is finally official. Download Android 9 Pie for Google Pixel and Google Pixel 2 Android Pie Factory Images Android Pie OTA Images What’s new in Android 9 Pie? We’ve already gone over all the new features and changes in every Android P Beta release. You can check out our in-depth lists of “Everything new in Android P” below. Let’s go over some of the big highlights in Android 9 Pie. Gesture Navigation The UI has been refined since these GIFs were created Phones are moving towards more gesture-based navigation and Google is hopping on the trend. The Android Pie gestures don’t work like most other phones. There is still a navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. The home button is now pill-shaped and it can be swiped up or side-to-side. Swiping up opens the Recent App switcher and can also open the app drawer from anywhere. Swiping to the left quickly will go to the previous app, or you can slide the pill back and forth to scroll through all recent apps. Recent App Switcher To go along with the new gestures, Android Pie has a brand new UI for recent apps. Gone is the vertical Rolodex of app windows. The new UI is a horizontal list with windows that do not overlap. This makes it easier to see what you were doing in the app. It’s also easier to launch into split screen mode by long-pressing the app icon. If you use the stock launcher, you also get an app dock and search bar in the recent apps UI. New Material Design A lot of the look of Android has been visually updated. It isn’t officially called “Material Design 2,” but it’s clearly a new look. Everything from the Settings to the Notification Shade has been refreshed. This new look goes with Google’s new design with a lot of their Android apps as well. Digital Wellbeing & Slices Coming Soon A big part of Google’s IO presentation about Android P was a new feature called “Digital Wellbeing.” Oddly enough, Digital Wellbeing is about helping users use their phone less. Google has included a new suite of tools to help get people off their phone. Digital Wellbeing will roll out this Fall for non-beta users. You can sign up here. Slices are a way to essentially display interactive pieces of apps within another app. A Slice is an interactive snippet that shows content from an app outside of the app. The example Google showed was looking for a Lyft. You simply search for “Lyft” in Google and you’ll see results from the Lyft app. When you tap on those results it will launch directly into that action in the app. This should save you time from diving in and out of apps. Slices will also not be available until the Fall for non-beta users. How to Install Android 9 Pie on the Google Pixel & Pixel 2 OTA Image Instructions Download the OTA image for your device Move it to the internal storage of your device Make sure you’ve set up ADB if you haven’t already Reboot to recovery with the following command: adb reboot recovery Select the option “Apply update from ADB” Sideload the OTA with the following command: adb sideload < OTA_image . zip > Factory Image Instructions