If you"ve got a Pixel phone that"s running the Android Q beta, it"s time to check for updates. Google today released the fifth beta for its next big Android feature update. As you can probably guess, there really isn"t anything that"s new here.
In fact, this is considered to be the first release candidate. When Google released the first Android Q beta back in March, it promised six betas before the public release in Q3, the final two of which are release candidates. And yes, that means that there will be one more beta build before general availability.
In the announcement, Google also noted that it"s working closely with OEMs to make gesture-based navigation the standard on all Android Q devices. In beta 5, you can swipe in from the corners to access Google Assistant, and the company also said that in beta 6, custom launchers will still get three-button navigation by default.
You can get today"s beta through the usual channels. If you"ve got a Pixel device that"s already on the beta, the update will arrive OTA. If you"re not on it yet, you can sign up for the Android Beta Program or flash the image. If you"re on the Android Q beta on a third-party device, you"re on a different schedule and it"s up to the OEM to roll it out.
Android Q beta 6 and the public release will both happen later this quarter.