Google has announced the release of Android 14 Beta 4, signaling that the stable version of the operating system may arrive in August. This latest update comes after months of development and bug squashing, resulting in a more polished build. Initially expected on July 5, the release was slightly delayed due to the holiday, but is now available for eligible Pixel devices, starting with the Pixel 4a (5G).
Android 14 Beta 4, identified by the build number UPB4.230623.005, includes the July security patches and weighs in at approximately 200MB, depending on the device. The release notes reveal an extensive list of bug fixes that address various system issues and improve overall performance.
What’s fixed in this update?
Among the developer-reported issues resolved are problems with notifications and Quick Settings tiles not functioning until a device was restarted, VoIP apps ceasing to record audio when the screen was locked or the app was in the background, and glitches with the display of the currently playing song when transitioning from always-on-display mode to the lock screen.
Other fixes include issues with charging, crashes of the Android System Intelligence service, errors related to the CredentialManager registry, null pointer exceptions in the HealthConnect API, boot loops, unresponsive elements in the system UI during mode switches, and unresponsiveness of the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) window when using certain apps in PiP mode and locking the screen.
Additionally, the update addresses problems with the lock screen wallpaper, poor UI animations in the launcher, an incorrect intent picker dialog during work profile setup, incorrect display of rounded borders on notifications, unresponsiveness when eSIM was disabled, crashes caused by ConnectivityService, issues with the system volume slider, problems with TalkBack accessibility, fingerprint enrollment failures during device rotation, incorrect ranking of Bluetooth devices in the system audio output switcher, and various other stability and performance improvements. You can check out the full changelogs here.
Notably, this beta release is now available for the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet devices as well, with users able to enroll in the beta program to receive prerelease updates. Based on previous release patterns, this is likely the second-to-last beta build before the stable release. Following a similar timeline to Android 13, which saw Beta 4 release in early July and the stable version in August, Google seems to be following a similar trajectory this year. While the update has begun rolling out, it may take some time to reach all users, depending on their device and carrier.
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