Google’s developer previews for Pixel phones are usually full of bugs but the idea is that not only do they allow developers to get their apps ready for the full release they allow Google to test things out, gauge the interest, gain feedback and have real world testers who can find bugs in their software.
Today Google have released a bug fix update to Android 11 Developer Preview 2, a 2.1 version. The minor update with the build number RPP2.200227.014 brings a few changes with it including the following:
General
- Fixed an issue where a crash would occur when long pressing to select an element within the recent apps overview.
- Fixed an issue where the status bar could crash in the background if its components weren’t all initialized yet.
- Fixed an issue where too many WindowTokens were created by SystemUI causing jankiness and dropped frames when navigating and scrolling apps.
Apps
- Fixed an issue where the Wear OS app could crash when trying to pair a Wear OS device.
- Fixed an issue where the Settings app could crash after tapping the search bar in the app.
If you are interested in installing the Developer Preview you will need to do it using a manual download and flash using Fastboot or by sideloading the OTA file via the Android recovery on top of an already install Developer Preview version. The builds are meant “for developers only and not intended for daily or consumer use”. If you have a compatible Pixel phone (from Pixel 2 up to Pixel 4) then you can easily install it if you wish just head on over to the Android Developers website and grab the factory image or the OTA and flash away.
Having used it for a couple of weeks remember that it is not stable enough for every day use with many apps not compatible with it at this stage. The OS itself also has some bugs that you will notice in every day use. It is worth having a quick look though just to see what Google has in store for us coming the final release later this year.
