Google is now in the process of making available the third developer preview of Android Q.
The announcement on what’s new with this release was made during the keynote presentation at Google I/O, the company’s 2019 developer event.
As per the announcement, the beta 3 preview of Android Q becomes officially available today. Those interested in self-applying the update can do so by downloading the image for the device in question and flashing it. Click here to go straight to the beta image page.
Alternatively, and more easily, interested device owners can sign up to be part of the beta program and have the update sent to their device via an OTA update in the same way all other OTA updates are usually received and applied. Click here for more information and/or to join the beta program.
Those already signed up to the beta can expect the OTA update to become available within the next few hours. Users can manually check to see if the update is already available through the usual procedure – Settings > Advanced > System Update and then hitting the “Check for update” tab. The arrival time of the update will vary, but we can confirm it has already started to make its way out to devices.
It is worth noting that although the beta preview is usually associated with Google’s own Pixel Phone line, the company did announce today a much wider level of third-party phone support with select models from OnePlus, Xiaomi, Sony, LG and others now eligible to sign up for the beta.
With this being the third beta preview, we are technically about half-way through the preview process as it is expected six previews will be made available before the main and final consumer-ready version of Android Q becomes available.
These beta releases typically arrive on a monthly basis with the beta two preview the last one to arrive back at the start of April. It is expected the final consumer-ready version will launch in the third quarter of this year.
Besides being the latest version of the beta, this is also a notable one for other reasons too. For example, there are some new features included with this update that will likely appeal to Android users, this includes a dedicated and system-wide dark theme which can be switched on or off easily through the use of a toggle in the settings.
While this is arguably the most headline feature included, the latest version of Android Q is full of other changes and additions too, including better security and privacy controls, greater use of Digital Wellbeing features, and even wider gesture support.
You can read more about the latest Android Q beta features, as well as the wider third-party device support, by clicking here.
Those who do opt to install this version of Android Q will want to keep in mind this is a beta version and so it is not expected to be a fully reliable or bug-free experience. That said, this is the third beta and so it should be far more reliable than the ones that came before it.