Android 14 Beta 1 released: what’s new, how to download and launch timeline

On this note, here’s looking at everything that Android 14 Beta 1 has to offer, how you can download them, and Google’s eventual release timeline for the latest version of the OS.

Android 14 Beta 1: all new features

Starting with the list of features that are new to Android 14 Beta 1, the overall list is limited to a few fine points in terms of the interface, and further easing the Android user interface. Here’s what’s new.

New Material You back arrow

The first and the most notable new feature released with Android 14 Beta 1 is the addition of a graphic back button and animation as part of Android 14’s gesture navigation environment. Once users enable the gesture-based user interface navigation, Android 14 Beta 1 will show a noticeable back arrow once they start swiping back to switch to the previous screen. The gesture navigation back arrow clearly supports Google’s Material You interface theme, where even system icons, buttons and tabs are matched to the overall theme of a device. As a result, the colour of the back arrow will change as you change your device theme.

According to Google, along with the arrow, users will also see a preview screen of what the previous screen was, in certain apps that are compatible with the feature.

Redesigned sharing screen for apps and files

Google has enhanced the sharing screen for apps and files on Android 14 Beta 1, which now features a large view of options that users can choose from. These include options to include or exclude a link preview when sharing an article, generate a QR code for sharing a document or article, and quick-send options sorted both in terms of the most frequently contacted users — as well as the most frequently and recently used applications on your phone.

A preview of the redesigned and enhanced sharing screen was already seen in the wild thanks to leaks from the Android 14 Developer Preview 2 — the previous release of Android. Now, this will be seen in a public beta build too, thus making it more accessible to users and not developers alone.

Enhanced per-app language settings

A feature that can actually make a significant difference for users of vernacular language apps, Google has added per-app language support for developers in Android Studio. In simple words, developers will now be able to access Google’s automatically generated language files — a move that may bring a larger quantum of vernacular language app interfaces natively to Android. The move can reduce the app development burden on smaller developers, who can now simply tap the Google software development kit (SDK) and build on it — thus leading to wider adoption.

Reduced exposure to accessibility settings

A privacy-centric feature, Google has reduced the amount of information that any app can tap from disability-focused accessibility settings. The result of this feature will be to restrict apps that have nothing to do with providing disability-specific features from accessing these settings — a tactic that is often used by spam apps carrying malware to snoop and steal sensitive user data. With this feature, only apps that are screened by Google Play Protect and downloaded through the Google Play Store will have the ability to access this feature.

In the long run, this may also be a key feature that Google cites to developers to publish on their Play Store — amid increasing pressure from anti-competition regulators around the world to open up access to third party app stores and download destinations on Android.

How to download the first Android 14 public beta

Before showing how you can download Android 14 Beta 1, here is the list of devices that are compatible with the latest public beta of the operating system.

• Pixel 4a 5G
• Pixel 5
• Pixel 5a
• Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
• Pixel 7 and 7 Pro

Note: If you do not have one of the above devices, your smartphone will not support the beta.

If you do, use the following steps to get access to Android 14 Beta 1 on your phone:

• Click here, or visit google.com/android/beta
• At the top of the screen, you will be asked to sign in to view if you’re eligible for the update
• Tap on sign in, and use your existing Google account to sign in to the beta update page from a browser on your phone
• Once you’re signed in, scroll towards the bottom of the page to view the tab, ‘Your eligible devices’
• If you have any eligible smartphone here, it will show up
• Underneath the device icon, tap on the ‘Opt in’ button
• Accept the disclaimer that appears, which will enable Android 14 Beta 1 access on your phone
• Now, head to Settings, scroll down to System, and tap on ‘System update’
• The update will now show up here, and you can simply follow on-screen instructions to get access to Android 14 Beta 1

Note: While it is more stable than the developer previews, Android 14 Beta 1 is still in the beta stage, and this can lead to unexpected software crashes and bugs that are still being worked on by Google. Downloading beta software on your primary device is not recommendable, and you are requested to proceed with caution.

Timeline of Android 14 release

According to Google’s official timeline, Beta 1 will be followed by a Beta 2 in May (next month). This is likely to happen before Google I/O 2023 developer conference, which is scheduled in May this year. This will be followed by Beta 3 in June, which Google expects to be a stable build. To be sure, stable builds mean that there will be no further feature omissions or additions, and are typically more recommendable than the pre-stable builds.

This will be followed by a fourth and final Beta release in July, following which Google will release its official stable build of Android 14 some time in end-August or September — based on the company’s typical software release patterns.