Google is sending Android 11 updates to some Pixel 4 owners early
Google seems to have given select users access to a beta version of Android 11 even though it canceled the mobile platform’s beta launch on June 3rd. According to XDA Developers’ Mishaal Rahman, some users received an OTA update for the OS on their Pixel 4 devices on the same day (as Droid Life notes) the Android 10 security patch for June came out. Rahman listed some of the features that dropped with the accidental release, including the media player users can display in and control from Android’s Quick Settings menu.
Remember the wild media player in Quick Settings experiment we found in DP1? https://t.co/s01QQNmdYv
It’s live in Beta 1 as a Developer Option called “media resumption.” pic.twitter.com/CKlbG7wYNh
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) June 1, 2020
Users are also getting three new icon shape choices and the option to get app suggestions on the bottom row of their Home screen.
Screenshots of these 3 icon shapes pic.twitter.com/lU4kDkOZcV
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) June 1, 2020
Onboarding/tutorial messages for the feature. pic.twitter.com/GS2K7gzizP
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) June 1, 2020
They’ll now also be able to access controls for connected devices by holding the Power button, provided they switch on the option in Settings.
Here’s the animation that plays on that page pic.twitter.com/hCmS8ShaO1
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) June 1, 2020
If they choose to, they can also enable bubble notifications under a new menu, which allows conversation alerts to show up as floating icons on top of other apps.
Here’s the animation that plays on that page. pic.twitter.com/iVuU9jzTom
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) June 1, 2020
Unfortunately, the rollout seems to be unplanned, so those who haven’t gotten it will probably have to wait until the beta’s official release. Google doesn’t have a new date for its rollout yet, though: when the tech giant canceled its June 3rd launch event, it only said that it will be back with more details on Android 11 “soon.”
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