This story is being continuously updated…. New updates are being added at the bottom…..
Original story (from June 02) follows:
With the seemingly never-ending global crisis that is the Corona Virus, many aspects of our lives have been affected and Big-Tech hasn’t been spared either.
As a tradition, by now we should have seen Google I/O 2020 in May, with the launch of developer previews and even Public Beta builds for Android R (Android 11). But of course, that never materialized due to this era of social distancing that is quickly becoming our new reality.
Initially, Google had plans to roll out the Android 11 Beta update on June 3. However, it seems like Google just cannot catch a break. Due to public unrest all across the US, Google had to, once again, postpone the rollout of this Android 11 Beta builds.
It now appears as though some Pixel 4 XL users have started receiving the Android 11 Beta update after all. In a few reports sent to XDA by a section of Pixel 4 XL users, a number of them have reported receiving an Android 11 beta build that bears the software version number RPB1.200504.018.
The updates, despite bearing the same software version number, weigh differently. One is almost 700MB while the other reported case weighs a little over 100MB.
We shall continue to monitor the development of this story and update accordingly. Did Google decide to skip the Android 11 Beta launch event altogether and go straight to rolling out the Beta build?
Was this an accidental roll out of pre-released software? Only time will tell. This is not the first time Google’s devices are getting new Android Betas before the official rollout. PhoneArena notes that the same happened with Nexus 6P and Android 7 back in 2016.
The Android 11 beta 1 update (RPB1.200504.018) is now live for the early adopters.
Update 1 (June 11)
Google has just released Android 11 Beta 2. This update doesn’t bring much in terms of changes/features as focus now seems to have shifted to making Android 11 Stable.
Update 2 (July 9)
Android 11 Beta builds are currently available for Google Pixel 4/4XL, Pixel 3a/3a XL, Pixel 3/3 XL, and Pixel 2/2 XL only. You can download the updated system images for these devices here.
Google has now released a new update for the Android 11 beta 2. It comes as Android 11 beta 2.5 with the build number RPB2.200611.012. Further, it brings the July security patch. This is a minor update carrying a few bug fixes. The OTA size for it is only 5.17MB.
Update 3 (July 23)
Here’s the changelog for the Android 11 beta 2.5 update:
Google has officially released the Android 11 beta 3 update as build number RPB3.200720.005. It also brings the August security patch and Google Play services version 20.24.14. The update brings a bunch of fixes and improvements that you can see in the changelog below:
– Fixed issues that prevented a user from hearing or recording audio in apps after they made a VoIP call. – The notification drawer no longer fails to appear sometimes when a user swipes down from the top of the screen. (Issue #159768228) – The screen no longer flickers on some devices when the screen is set to a low brightness level. (Issue #156051413) – Fixed various issues that could cause devices to reboot intermittently. (Issue #159888167) – The navigation bar no longer appears in cases when it wouldn’t normally display, such as during a device restart. (Issue #159592365) – Some Pixel 4/XL devices that have taken more than one Android 11 update are no longer blocked from receiving an OTA back to Android 10. (Issue #158765677)
Google apps
– Video recording is no longer interrupted sometimes when using the Camera app. (Issue #159185509) – The Dialer app no longer uses the speakerphone sometimes as the default audio device. (Issue #159203518) – In the Messages app, the RCS chat features no longer get stuck sometimes in the Connecting state. (Issue #159786769) (Source)
Update 4 (August 7)
NOTE: We have these and many more Android 11 stories in our dedicated Android 11 section.
General On Pixel devices when using another default launcher, gesture navigation actions can sometimes launch the Pixel launcher instead of the default launcher. (Issue #160859801) Google apps On some devices, the Camera app can sometimes crash when a user attempts to take a photo or video. (Issue #158818461) The screen sometimes fails to auto-rotate when using the YouTube app. (Issue #159098879)
PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.
