Is Android Q Beta 3 worth the install? Here’s a review

In line with the hottest news about Google suspending Huawei from Android (effective immediately) and the idea that the Chinese giant is planning to create its own OS, people are asking, will it be as good as Android? Surely, Huawei will capture some of the Android features, but it is expected it won’t be the same bleeding-edge technology like Google. The latest upcoming Android version is the Android Q and it’s beta version is already rolling out on several phones. Here’s an update of the Android Q Beta development. Let’s find out if it’s already worth installing, or should we wait for the final version. Android Q beta bugs and stability Android Q beta has reached its third rendition which is now called the Android Q beta 3. When it first came out, users encountered several problems with the OS, which is understandable since it’s the first trial version. One of the main issues is the inability to update apps on the Google Play Store. Gladly, several of these issues were already fixed on Android Q beta 3. Battery life has improved too. Previously, despite the promise that idle apps are not allowed to run in the background, unused apps continue to drain the battery. The new Android gesture navigation system is cool, but still a little buggy. There’s still a problem with going back and forth from apps. The device jitters and the app switcher from the home screen are sometimes hard to access. The good news is, Google won’t force users to use the new navigation system. There will be an option to revert back to the traditional three-button navigation menu. Other known issues on Android Q beta 3:

• Casting from the phone to Chromecast Ultra connection tend to drop.
• Double-tapping the power button to access the camera from sleep does not work 100%.
• Unlocking the phone from sleep results in a blank screen.
• Banking and finance apps might not work.
• Apps and games that depend on DRM or security libraries might crash due to a change to Bionic libraries and dynamic linker paths in Android Q.
• Physical activity permission does not correctly control access to the user’s step count.

Android Q beta Timeline and Update

• Beta 1 (initial release, beta, March 13, 2019)
• Beta 2 (incremental update, beta, early April 2019)
• Surprise Beta 2 maintenance release (incremental update, beta, April 10, 2019)
• Beta 3 (incremental update, beta, early May 2019, likely coinciding with Google I/O)
• Beta 4 (final APIs and official SDK, Play publishing, beta, early June 2019)
• Beta 5 (release candidate for testing Q3 2019)
• Beta 6 (release candidate for final testing Q3 2019)
• Final release to AOSP and ecosystem (Q3 2019)

Is Android Q beta worth the shot? Of course, it is, but be cautious. It’s not exactly perfect. If you’re willing to take the risk and itching to try it out, make sure you have backup phones you can switch to if something goes wrong. Be very aware that you might run into some bugs that other reviewers didn’t.