Google has finally started rolling out the Android 14 Beta 3 for all the supported Pixel devices, including the recently released Pixel 7a. Now, the reason why this beta is more special than the rest is that it indicates the OS has reached Platform Stability. This means that Google has delivered the final SDK/NDK APIs, as well as final internal APIs and app-facing system behaviors, so you can expect a lot more stable experience if you go ahead and install this.
Android 14 Beta 3 is now available for all supported Pixel devices, including the Pixel 7a, with a lot of fixes and changes
Considering the importance of Android 14 Beta 3, Google announced that the latest update is going to build on the core themes, which means that "privacy, security, performance, developer productivity, and user customization while continuing to improve the large-screen device experience on tablets, foldables, and more." This is great news since Android has finally started to come full circle thanks to Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablets, two form factors that were previously missing from Google's portfolio.
Now, as with all the other beta releases, the Android 14 Beta 3 does come with a number of fixes and changes to the overall OS. You can have a look at the changes Google has fixed:
- Fixed issues that prevented Wi-Fi calling from being enabled for some devices and carriers.
- Fixed an issue that caused Direct My Call interactions to fail in some cases where they would normally work.
- Fixed system issues that caused unnecessary power consumption in some cases.
- Fixed system stability issues that caused UI jank in some cases.
- Fixed an issue that caused the system Settings app to crash while setting the wallpaper.
- Fixed an issue with the system UI that could cause a GPU hang, leading to "Application Not Responding" (ANR) errors.
- Fixed a system issue that could sometimes cause a device's GPS services to stop working until the device was rebooted.
- Fixed issues with the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) that could prevent devices from being able to make Wi-Fi calls in some cases.
- Fixed an issue where a blank screen displays after selecting the "Message" option for a recent caller in the Google Phone app.
- Fixed an issue where while 3-button navigation was enabled for a device, putting Google Maps into picture-in-picture mode made the picture-in-picture window disappear.
- Fixed an issue where locking and unlocking a device while playing a video in the Google TV app could cause the device to freeze.
- Fixed an issue with Android Auto where some users could be asked to re-pair Bluetooth.
- Fixed issues with Health Connect, including the following issues and other API and system behaviors:
- An issue where the system back button stopped working while Health Connect integration was in progress.
- An issue where the Route Permissions screen would sometimes freeze.
- An issue where Health Connect sometimes couldn't be accessed in system settings.
- An issue where the data category page of Health Connect was missing some permission types when a filter was applied.
Known Issues:
- An issue with the Credential Manager platform APIs causes instability in apps that use them. A fix is available in the latest preview version of the Android 14 SDK, which developers can install using Android Studio. Developers who previously installed a preview version of the Android 14 SDK should completely uninstall the previous version and then reinstall the SDK to apply the fix.
- An issue with the system UI sometimes causes the screen to flicker when a video is playing or an app is using picture-in-picture mode.
- In some cases, the video continues playing in the background even after closing an app if the video was playing in picture-in-picture mode when it was closed.
- A video that is playing in picture-in-picture mode stops playing abruptly if the back gesture is used within the PiP settings screens.
- A system issue can sometimes cause the Android System Intelligence service to crash.
- When using a device with a work profile, the Google Play Store app in the work profile hangs or crashes when launched.
Now, the good news for you, if you are a developer, is that with Android 14 Beta 3, you can finally go ahead and start the final testing of the apps or the updates. You can expect Google to add or remove more changes as we move to the final stages of the update, and we are hoping that Android 14 will be fully ready sometime in October, as it will be launching alongside Pixel 8 series.
For those who are looking to download, you can get the factory images below. If you need help flashing these, you can head over to our guide here, and this will help you get things started.
Platform stability is definitely good. This means that Android 14 is almost ready, and while it is still in the beta stages, the experience will be a lot more stable, and I don't think Google is going to omit any features at this point. Not to forget, this also means that other companies might start rolling out their beta programs for Android 14. I am hoping Samsung does so, and we finally get a glimpse at One UI 6.0. There is precedent for believing why that would be the case because the company is already updating native apps to support One Ui 6.0, so we can see an imminent release date.
As mentioned in previous articles, Android 14 is not going to bring a major design overhaul. However, it will perfect what Google did with Android 12 and Android 13, with a lot of improvements under the hood to existing systems and an introduction of some new, complementary systems, too. Hopefully, we will soon get a complete changelog showing what changes Google has made. Until then, stay tuned!
About the author: I have been tinkering with Android devices ever since the early days of the HTC Desire. Over time, I have grown a fondness for the ecosystem and now I cannot live without it. Although some might believe that I have sold my soul to Android, but I believe it is not the case. You can find me writing tutorials and posting guides on a number of different smartphones. When I am not writing here, I am wasting myself away in books, journals, or on Steam.
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