A couple of months ago Google announced the first early developer preview of their next big update to Android. The update was said to be so early in development that it wasn't added to the Android Beta Program. Instead, it was released as a Developer Preview that needed to be manually flashed. With today being the first day of their annual developer conference, the company has just announced that Android P is now in beta and that it is available for those who want to try out an early version of the software.

So far, this update has been hit with praise and criticism due to the changes that Google included in the first developer preview. Some people aren't a fan of the redesign that has happened with the user interface and they feel it is a bit too bubbly than they would have liked it to be. There are some who dislike the actual changes to the user interface as they are not a fan of how the Quick Settings tiles function. Beyond that, the update has been fairly well received as there are a lot of under the hood changes in regards to an updated neural networks API, client-side encryption, a new multi-camera API and more.

Now that Android P is in beta, anyone who wants to participate in the program can visit the Android Beta landing page to make their device eligible for the update. In fact, if you had previously flashed the Android P developer preview to your device then you may end up receiving an OTA update to this beta version sometime today. This update includes all of the changes that were present in the previous version and also adds some new gestures for developers to test out.

We've already heard about the rumored navigation gestures that were said to be coming with Android P and that is indeed present in this big update. Not only that, but there's also a new gesture that has you holding the Power and Volume Up buttons together to prevent the phone from ringing. As more people get their hands on the update, we'll be able to cover the additional features that have been added to Android P beta.

The Android P beta will be available for the following devices according to Google: Sony Xperia XZ2, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, Nokia 7 Plus, Oppo R15 Pro, Vivo X21, OnePlus 6, and Essential PH‑1, Google Pixel, and Google Pixel 2.


Android P Beta Program

Android P Beta for non-Google devices

Screenshots via: +Gabriel Bryne