Google released Android 11 Beta 2 earlier this month, hitting the Platform Stability milestone. This means that the search giant has finalized the features and system behavior of the OS and will concentrate on bug fixes and stability improvements. The first of the bug-fixing updates is rolling out today, with the company releasing Beta 2.5 to users.
The update is a minor one with a few fixes for audio issues and notification drawer problems. The release also fixes a flickering screen issue on some Pixel devices, which was noticeable on the Pixel 4 and 4 XL when the 90Hz Smooth Display mode was enabled. The responses on the Issue Tracker suggest that the Beta 2 update worsened the problem, so it will be a welcome fix for those that have been suffering from the issue.
Here is the complete changelog for the update:
General
- 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)
The second beta also added a few new features such as the ability to capture audio in screen recordings and a cleaner share menu. The company also confirmed that it will not be bringing support for long screenshots in the OS.
The third developer beta is expected sometime in August, which will also be the release candidate for the OS. This is when the Mountain View giant will also release the finalized SDK to developers. Android 11 is slated to launch in the third quarter of this year. A slide in one of the ‘Hey Google Smart Home Summit’ presentations suggested that the company will release the update to Pixel devices on September 8. However, the video containing that slide was taken down.