After three Android 14 QPR1 betas, Google has finally released the first beta Android 14 QPR2 for the Pixel devices, and comes with a few new and previously announced features. And of course, it wouldn’t be an Android update if the new build didn’t add new features that are hidden and “coming soon.” Here are all the new features in the Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 update for Pixel devices starting from Pixel 5.
Record a particular app screen
The screen recorder feature now allows you to record a particular app. It will continue recording the app until it is terminated, which means that when you switch to using another app, the previous app will continue to be recorded. While recording a particular app, notification popups or UI elements don’t bombard the recording, which is pretty cool and useful.
New privacy indicator
When an app uses your phone’s camera or microphone, you can now swipe down and tap the green privacy indicator to reveal a new UI. If you did the same before, a Safety Cernter-like full-screen user interface would open.
Faster update installation
Updating a Pixel used to take forever, until Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1. If you’ve recently updated your Pixel, you might have noticed a significant improvement in installation speed, and the same is no coincidence.
According to Mishaal Rahman and a user “Moshe,” the update may have installed faster this time because the Pixels are now using Tensor’s center cores to speed up the update process. This was reported from a Pixel 8. Installation on our Pixel 6 was also lightning fast, unlike previous beta versions.
Quarantined apps
Users can now quarantine apps by going to the Quarantine Apps section in the Developer Options. If you enable apps in the same menu, they can no longer be opened, which doesn’t exactly explain why this feature exists in the first place. We should hear more about this as more details about the builds are revealed.
Disable “At a Glance” for good!
A big addition coming soon to the Pixel Launcher is the ability to remove the At a Glance widget from the home screen. This has been a highly requested feature and Google has finally listened to people’s requests in this new Android 14 Beta update. On the other hand, if you like At a Glance, you should use it Smart spaceran app that improves At a glance.
A new ‘Your Pixel is up to date’ screen
I was convinced my phone was wiped by the new update after this new screen flashed on my face. It turns out it’s just a new screen that Google added to replace the “Your phone has been updated” popup.
Features “Coming Soon”
- Remove Authenticator Unlock (Watch Unlock Alternative to AOSP)
- Bluetooth quick settings tile
- Private Space (probably a feature to hide apps)
- Keyboard vibrations in Settings
- Notification cooldown (may reduce notification volume when an app is spamming notifications)
And those are all the features that are new and coming soon in the new Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 update. Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments below.
