Google has released Android 11 Developer Preview almost a month ahead of its usual schedule. The next major version brings some exciting developments onto the table that could be worth trying out.
You can install the developer preview if you own a supported device (Pixel 2/2XL, 3/3XL, and 4/4XL). Sadly, the original Pixel and Pixel XL users don’t have anything to grab this time.
Now, an important thing to note here is that the preview build comes with a fresh set of features and APIs intended for developer testing only.
This means that the Android 11 preview build is unstable and might show unexpected behavior, UI lags, and more frequent app crashes.
In the worst-case scenarios, a user might lose all the data on their phone if not backed up properly. That’s the reason Google is only allowing manual flashing of Android 11 DP1, which won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
So, when should I install Android 11?
Google has laid out a detailed roadmap for the Android 11 release in 2020. Here is when Google will release the next developer previews, and beta builds:
- Developer Preview 1 (February)
- Developer Preview 2 (March)
- Developer Preview 3 (April)
- Public Beta 1 (May)
- Public Beta 2 (June)
- Public Beta 3 (Q3) (Expected: July)
- Final Release (Q3) (Expected: August)
As the name suggests, the developer previews released during the early months will focus on adding new APIs and features and making required changes after developer feedback.
Post that, the public betas will allow general users to test the latest version of Android OS. Meanwhile, developers will get busy testing their apps for errors and compatibility issues.
Google says that Beta 2 will be a major milestone, labeled Platform Stability, in the development of Android 11. It will put a seal of confirmation on all the APIs and behaviors added to the new Android version, which means no considerable under-the-hood changes will be made beyond this point.
So, if you are skeptical about installing an unstable Android 11 build, you can wait till June and get your hands on the public beta 2. Of course, the process of installing Android 11 public betas will be a lot easier in the form of OTA updates.
Android 11 Release Date
It was a surprising move from Google that the DP1 was released in February. Speaking of the past, Android 10 was officially released in September last year. So, taking the shift into account, it should be safe to assume that Android 11 could land in August 2020.
However, Google has mentioned Q3 for the final release, which means we can get slightly more optimistic and expect the Android 11 release date to fall in July.
Anyway, we’ll keep you updated on the future developments of Android 11.
