Google releases the first public Android 11 beta for most Pixel phones

Google has, in a very 2020-appropriate way, silently unleashed Android 11 Beta 1 on enthusiasts and developers. It may allow these individuals to test their apps for compatibility with what will one day be the next major upgrade for this OS, or merely gain a greater insight as to how the same may work right now.

To date, those with devices of the Pixel 2, 3, 3a and 4 series of phones can download and run this software. However, they may be advised to remember that it is still a preliminary build, and may thus not be suitable for daily-driver activities such as using Google Pay.

This latest version of Android implements some of its maker's latest initiatives, which include wireless ADB debugging, efforts to prevent needless location requests in the background, resettable permission controls and the Mainline project, which may unify security- and framework-related behaviors and thus potentially expedite new OEM-distributed OTAs in the future.

On that note, non-Google smartphone makers may, as with the Android Q development process, gain extremely timely access to 11's betas this year. For example, Xiaomi has announced that there will be such programs for users with the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro opening shortly; the same will also be available for the POCO F2 Pro.

In addition, OPPO has revealed that the same will be here for the X2 series by the end of June 2020. These builds will also be overlaid with the MIUI and ColorOS skins respectively.