Google rolling out Android 14 Beta 1 for Pixel phones

Abner Li | Apr 12 2023 - 9:59 am PT

Like last year, the first beta of the next major version of Android is launching a month before Google I/O. Android 14 Beta 1 is rolling out to Pixel phones today.

Android 14 Beta 1 is the “initial beta-quality release” and the first this cycle to be available as over-the-air update for those enrolled in the Android Beta Program.

In terms of what’s new, Google is highlighting a Smarter System UI tentpole in Beta 1. Android 14 will feature a “more prominent back arrow” that (as seen in DP2) is housed in a pill that features a Dynamic Color background. This is meant to “improve back gesture understanding and usefulness.”

Apps can add custom actions to system share sheets that they invoke. For example, opening the share sheet in a photo app might let you quickly create an album or link.

In addition, the system now uses more app signals to determine the ranking of the direct share targets. You provide the signal by calling pushDynamicShortcut to report shortcut usage with the corresponding capability bindings.

Google is also highlighting More graphics capabilities with the Path API that offers a “powerful and flexible mechanism for creating and rendering vector graphics,” and Personalization with Per-app language preferences.

Under Privacy, there’s the accessibilityDataSensitive attribute to let apps “limit visibility of specified views only to accessibility services that claim to help users with disabilities.” It can be used to:

Protect user data (such as personal details or plaintext passwords)
Prevent critical actions from being executed unintentionally (such as transferring money or checking out in a shopping app)

You can leave feedback with the Android Beta Feedback app on Pixel devices. Access it from the drawer or via Quick Settings to file bugs in the Google issue tracker. There’s also the Android Beta community on Reddit.

Android 14 Beta 1 (UPB1.230309.014 or UPB1.230309.014.A1 for Pixel 6 series on Verizon) with the April 2023 security patch — March 2023 for Verizon — is available for the Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7 Pro, as well as the Android Emulator. Most people will be installing via the Android Beta Program, but you can also flash or sideload.

If your phone is running Android 13 QPR3 Beta 2.1 and enrolled in the Android Beta Program, it will be automatically updated to the Android 14 Beta 1.

If you need help, here’s our full guide on installing Android 14.