Android 14 second beta addresses a big list of issues on Pixel phones

Google’s annual developer conference, known as the Google I/O event, has just concluded, where the company showcased its upcoming Android operating system. Google has already released two public beta builds, including a small patch fix upgrade. Today, Google is rolling out the second beta of Android 14 for Pixel phones.

The much-awaited second beta tags along with the UPB2.230407.014 build number. If you are using a Verizon’s Pixel 6 series model, then you will receive the new update with UPB2.230407.014.A1 firmware version. As a normal incremental beta, it requires 200MB of data for downloading. You can quickly update your Pixel smartphone to the newest beta and try out the changes.

Google is seeding the new software to the Pixel phones with May 2023 security patch, the same cannot be said for the Pixel 6 series Verizon models, as they are getting the new upgrade with April security patch.

In terms of changes, the second beta brings Ultra HDR support for images, predictive gestures support, secure full-screen intent notifications, data safety information is more visible, Zoom, Focus, Postview, and more in Camera Extensions, In-sensor zoom, Lossless USB Audio, More graphics capabilities, and more.

You can explore more details about these features on Android Developers Blog and Android Developers website.

• Add support for built-in and custom predictive back animations
• Secure full-screen Intent notifications
• Data safety information is more visible

Now let’s take a look at the fixes coming with today’s release. These are the developer-reported issues.

Android 14 Developer Reported issues

• Fixed a platform stability issue that could cause the UI to lag or freeze, apps to crash, or the device to crash. (Issue #270848913, Issue #274339025, Issue #277039789, Issue #256511926, Issue #279246037, Issue #279301937, Issue #279145050, Issue #279288220, Issue #274827412)
• Fixed an issue with the fingerprint sensor that prevented new fingerprints from being added for Fingerprint Unlock in some cases. (Issue #277950569)
• Fixed issues with UPI and biometrics that could cause some apps to not work properly. (Issue #278003306, Issue #277967514, Issue #278043615)
• Fixed an issue where a device couldn’t be unlocked using a fingerprint after tapping a notification or choosing a notification action on the lock screen. (Issue #278174846)
• Fixed an issue on some devices that caused sound to play through the speakers instead of headphones that were connected. (Issue #278043129)
• Fixed an issue that caused icons on the home screen to appear almost invisible. (Issue #277970542)
• Fixed issues with gesture navigation that occurred when using a custom launcher:
  • The Home screen content wouldn’t display and the animation would fail to render when swiping up to go Home. (Issue #277981298)
  • The list of recently used apps couldn’t be accessed using the normal gesture. (Issue #277983179)
• Fixed issues that prevented users from interacting with notifications in the notification shade. (Issue #278339342, Issue #276534576)
• Fixed an issue that could cause a device to crash after finishing audio or video calls. (Issue #279539689)

Android 14 Other Resolved issues

• Fixed an issue where, after entering and exiting picture-in-picture mode, the screen flickered when any apps were launched.
• Fixed an issue where user restrictions set by DPC admins were not being enforced in Settings.
• Fixed an issue where, after taking pictures with the Google Camera app, opening the latest picture from the thumbnail in the app briefly displayed a green-colored shade over the image.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the battery percentage to be displayed as 0% after a device reboot regardless of the actual charge level of the device.
• Fixed an issue that could cause a device to crash, and then when the device rebooted any wallpapers that were selected before the reboot were reset.
• Fixed issues that prevented the Better Bug app from uploading bug reports.
• Fixed issues that caused the back-to-home gesture to stop working.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the system Settings app to crash repeatedly.
• Fixed an issue that prevented users from searching within the system Settings app.
• Fixed issues that sometimes caused null pointer exceptions for input method editors (IMEs).
• Fixed an issue that sometimes increased system-wide memory usage unnecessarily.
• Fixed system issues that could sometimes cause deadlocks.

Now if you own an eligible Pixel smartphone running on the first beta, then you can easily upgrade your Pixel smartphone to the incremental beta by navigating to the System Updates in Settings and then downloading the new beta.

If your phone is running on the Android 13 stable version and you want to try out the Android 14 beta, then you need to sign up for the Android Beta Program, see the process in this story. Make sure your phone is eligible for the Android 14, these are the eligible models – Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7 Pro.

You can also manually sideload the Android 14 beta on your Pixel phone, you can download the OTA builds for manual installation from this page.

Before updating your phone, make sure to take a backup of important data and also charge your phone to at least 50%.

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