ASUS kicked off the Android 11 beta program for the ZenFone 6 about a month ago. The same phone is sold as the ASUS 6Z in the Indian market, which is also eligible for the beta initiative. The Taiwanese OEM has yet to publish a proper timeline of their Android 11 rollout plan, but that doesn't mean you can't have the taste of the newest version of Android on your phone. The first Android 11 build is now available for the ASUS ZenFone 6 for early testing.

ASUS ZenFone 6 XDA Forums

The version number of the new build is 18.0610.2009.37, which is a rather steep jump from the latest stable Android 10-based firmware (17.1810.2009.176). The update brings all of the new features included in the stable Android 11 codebase, along with minor improvements to ASUS' own ZenUI skin. For instance, the PowerMaster module is now integrated with the Battery settings to avoid redundancy. Additionally, a handful of launcher functionalities like smart grouping and icon pack support have been removed. ASUS has also enabled gesture navigation in third-party launchers.

The complete changelog of the first Android 11 update for the ZenFone 6 is listed below:

1. Upgraded system to Android 11.
2. Please back up your data before upgrading to Android 11. If you want to downgrade the device's software version to Android 10 by official software package, it will erase all data from your device's internal storage.
3. Some 3rd party apps are not compatible with Android 11.
4. Removed Private Listening and ZenUI Help.
5. Integrated PowerMaster features into Battery Settings. Removed Avast scanning engine.
6. Removed Smart group icon alignment and Icon packs functions. Allowed to organize app icons cross screens after tapping empty area.
7. Introduced new ZenUI design.
8. Support to keep Bluetooth connection when airplane mode is activated.
9. Added Notifications history and Bubbles settings.
10. Support navigation gestures for 3rd-party launcher.

Apparently there is no incremental OTA, so ZenFone 6 users who signed up for the beta testing have to download the full-sized update ZIP that weighs about 1.3GB. We'll update the article when we capture the sideload-friendly update package.