Google, after few delays, has launched Android 11 Beta 1 and here is how you can download it for your Google Pixel phone. Android R or Android 11 has been in the works for numerous months now. Owing to various global circumstances, the build cycle witnessed a few delays and modifications. Where Google originally planned to launch Android Beta last month, it skipped the deadline and released an additional Developer Preview. Nonetheless, the latest Android 11 Beta is now here and with the links ahead, you can download complete Android 11 Beta factory images.
Importantly, Beta releases are the first taste of upcoming Android versions for the general public. Despite a slew of Developer Previews already pushed by Google, this is the first iteration of Android R that will be able to enthusiasts as a relatively stable build. More, developers can now finalize their apps even further for when Android R becomes stable. Let’s discuss what’s new with the latest release right ahead, available for Pixel 2 / 2 XL, Pixel 3 / 3 XL, Pixel 3a / 3a XL and Pixel 4 / 4 XL phones.
Android 11 Beta: Details and Changes
Android 11 is finally in Beta stages. Graduating from Develop Preview, this first Beta will give a large number of enthusiasts their first look into Android R. The Beta marks relative stability to any new Android version and makes it eligible to be run as a daily driver. If you are upgrading from Android 11 Developer Preview 4, there are still a number of changes to witness.
Update: Download Android 11 Beta 1.5 – Bug-Fix Update
Google characterizes what’s new in Android 11 Beta into three main categories: People, Controls and Privacy. Here is the official breakdown of each along with feature listing:
People: we’re making Android more people-centric and expressive, reimagining the way we have conversations on our phones, and building an OS that can recognize and prioritize the most important people in your life:
- Conversation notifications appear in a dedicated section at the top of the shade, with a people-forward design and conversation specific actions, such as opening the conversation as a bubble, creating a conversation shortcut on the home screen, or setting a reminder.
- Bubbles help users to keep conversations in view and accessible while multitasking. Messaging and chat apps should use the Bubbles API on notifications to enable this in Android 11.
- Consolidated keyboard suggestions let Autofill apps and Input Method https://developer.android.com/preview/overview#timeline Editors (IMEs) securely offer context-specific entities and strings directly in an IME’s suggestion strip, where they are most convenient for users.
- Voice Access, for people who control their phone entirely by voice,now includes an on-device visual cortex that understands screen content and context, and generates labels and access points for accessibility commands.
Controls: the latest release of Android can now help you can quickly get to all of your smart devices and control them in one space:
- Device Controls make it faster and easier than ever for users to access and control their connected devices. Now, by simply long pressing the power button, they’re able to bring up device controls instantly, and in one place. Apps can use a new API to appear in the controls.
- Media Controls make it quick and convenient for users to switch the output device for their audio or video content, whether it be headphones, speakers or even their TV. You can enable this today from Developer Options, and it will be on by default in an upcoming Beta release.
Privacy: In Android 11, we’re giving users even more control over sensitive permissions and working to keep devices more secure through faster updates.
- One-time permission lets users give an app access to the device microphone, camera, or location, just that one time. The app can request permissions again the next time the app is used.
- Permissions auto-reset: if users haven’t used an app for an extended period of time, Android 11 will “auto-reset” all of the runtime permissions associated with the app and notify the user. The app can request the permissions again the next time the app is used.
- Background location: In February, we announced developers will need to get approval to access background location in their app to prevent misuse. We’re giving developers more time to make changes and won’t be enforcing the policy for existing apps until 2021.
- Google Play System Updates, launched last year, lets us expedite updates of core OS components to devices in the Android ecosystem. In Android 11, we more than doubled the number of updatable modules, and those 12 new modules will help improve privacy, security, and consistency for users and developers.
This is a Beta build which users can sign up for through the Beta program. If you are looking to manually install or update, you can do that by the links ahead.
Download Android 11 Beta 1 Images
This is the first Beta release for Android R that has arrived in June 2020. For now, Google is shooting for 2 further Beta builds before final release.
To download the images, there are two ways: download factory images and flash manually or use Android Flash Tool. We have listed them both ahead.
Use Factory Images
Here are the official download links available for compatible Pixel smartphones:
Download system factory image for Pixel 4 XL (coral): Download Android 11 Beta 1
Download system factory image for Pixel 4 (flame): Download Android 11 Beta 1
Download system factory image for Pixel 3a XL (bonito): Download Android 11 Beta 1
Download system factory image for Pixel 3a (sargo): Download Android 11 Beta 1
Download system factory image for Pixel 3 XL (crosshatch): Download Android 11 Beta 1
Download system factory image for Pixel 3 (blueline): Download Android 11 Beta 1
Download system factory image for Pixel 2 XL (taimen): Download Android 11 Beta 1
Download system factory image for Pixel 2 (walleye): Download Android 11 Beta 1
Use Android Flash Tool
Alternatively, users can also utilize Android Flash Tool to flash the files manually. Flash Tool is Google’s automated web-app that will automate the process of downloading firmware files and flashing it on your phone. You would need to have ADB / Fastboot utilities, proper USB drivers installed on your computer along with a compliant web browser such as Google Chrome.
To install Android 11 Beta using Android Flash Tool follow this link:
We can’t wait for the stable release to be live in the next few months, do let us know about your feedback about Android R Beta 1 in the comments below.
