Most Pixel users expected to be onAndroid 14by now, but things don’t always work out as we’d like. It seems Google willdelay the release of its next major OS upgradeuntil October, when in past years we’ve seen the new version by August. But that hasn’t stopped the company from pushing forward on its next major beta program, and now, Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1 is here.
In addition to its monthly security patch releases, Google operates on a quarterly release cadence for updates with significant user-facing changes. The company publishes one major Android version update each year, then does three releases with a focus on adding features before seeding another major OS update. The beta program kicking off today will deal with Android 14’s first Quarterly Platform Release, or QPR1, which should make its official debut in just under three months as the December 2023 Pixel Feature Drop.
Google has updatedits Android 14 beta downloads page to add the new version, and we have received user reports of the OTA being available. The update should now be rolling out to everyone who is enrolled in the Android Beta Program. That means that if you were in the Android 14 beta program but do not wish to participate in the QPR1 beta, you’ll need toopt out of the beta programand refuse today’s update to receive the stable build of Android 14 whenever it comes out.
This build carries a version number ofU1B1.230908, and it has a security patch date of September 2023. Therelease notesmention several bug fixes, but we don’t expect much of the new Feature Drop functionality to be operational in this version. Google has, however, called out Android 14’suser override settings for large-screen devicesas a feature it recommends you test.
Features to test
In addition to other app testing that you do with Android 14 QPR1, we recommend testing your app with the following features:
Top resolved issues
Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1 resolves the top issues that are described in the following sections and includes fixes for some issues that are not noted here.
Notably, the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 are not eligible for this update. Google’s 2020 flagship phone was its last to use an off-the-shelf Qualcomm processor instead of its more customized Google Tensor chip, and was thusonly guaranteed 3 years of software updatesas opposed to the 5-year support window for the Pixel 6 and newer or therumored extended support on the Pixel 8. The Pixel 5 is still guaranteed updates through October, however.
As for the Pixel 4a 5G, Google had already opted not to support the non-5G variant of the Pixel 4a throughout the Android 14 beta program, as its promised update timeframe ended in August 2023 before that version was due for official release. The Pixel 4a 5G is promised support until November 2023, however, and will continue to receive stable channel updates until then.
Even though Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1 is starting the process of rolling out, it could take up to a week to reach everyone, depending on your device type and carrier. If you’re not enrolled in the beta, you’re able to do that here — once you are, just head toSettings → System → System update, then tap theCheck for updatebutton to see if the new version is available. If it’s not, you can alsouse Google’s Android Flash Toolto manually sideload theOTAor flash thefactory images.
