How to Sign up for the Android Q Beta Now
The Android OS cycle kicks off again this week with Google announcing more details on Android Q and releasing the first early beta for adventure lovers looking under the hood. If you are one of these people and own a Google Pixel phone, you can sign up for the beta now and start trying out Android Q within 24 hours of your request (if not sooner).
How to sign up for the Android Q beta
The Android Q beta is (currently) only available on Google Pixel phones. You need a Pixel, Pixel, Pixel 2, or Pixel 3 (standard or XL) to download the preview today.
But safety comes first! Before digging, make a backup of your device, including any important data that will be deleted if you decide to rollback your device to a stable OS. (Previous versions of Android were unstable at this point, so depending on what you do, it’s much more likely that you will have to revert to Android Pie if you run into too many problems.)
To back up your phone, go to the Settings menu, tap System, then Backup. Make sure “Back up my data” is turned on. If it doesn’t, turn it on and Google will save a backup right away.
Registering and downloading the beta is as simple as registering on the Google Android Q beta page and waiting for the update to download. On the page, sign in to your Google account and find your Pixel phone under the “Suitable devices” section. (Google notes that the pixel must be visible on Google Play to receive the update, and you can check the visibility status of your devices in the Google Play Store settings menu .)
It can take up to 24 hours after registering for the beta, although The Verge said it received the update within 30 minutes.
If you can’t wait or just love to manipulate your smartphone manually, you can also manually install or flash Android Q. Google has a list of Android Q system images for each device in the Developer FAQ, as well as step-by-step instructions. step by step instructions. To be honest, I do not recommend doing this unless you are actively testing the application. Without registering for the beta, you won’t be able to download updates, so you’ll have to flash your phone every time Google updates the software. This is unnecessary extra work.
Things to check out in Android Q
Many of the major improvements Google plans to add to Android Q probably won’t be obvious just by looking at the newly flashed Pixel. Supporting the coming wave of foldable phones like the Samsung Galaxy Fold is a priority in Android Q, as is better 5G support.
However, there are some new features that you can play with right away. Android Q provides finer-grained controls for customizing (often disabling) the location data settings of each app, as well as controls that prevent apps from accessing your files without permission. Apps will be able to take advantage of the new “Quick Settings” panel, which will make it much easier to access frequently configured settings than always accessing the regular app settings interface.
There are also new shortcuts that give you quick access to supported apps, so you can hit the brakes in the middle of text, go to another app, copy a snippet of an email, and then jump back to Messages. And, as always, the beta is full of less noticeable technical changes that may not directly affect the way you use your phone, but still improve it (like WPA3 support and additional randomized MAC addresses).
If you’re interested in a detailed rundown of what Google is working on with Android Q, the Google Developers blog has a detailed rundown.