Our Favorite Things Inside Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1
We have a new Android beta, but what makes it special is that we're technically testing the Android 14 beta before the stable Android 14, which hasn't been released yet. This has never happened in the short time Google has built a QPR (Quarterly Platform Release), and frankly, we're here for it.
We have a good list of new things to cover, but everything we've seen, we want to highlight the ones that interest us. We've narrowed the list down to four things we think you'll love too.
Here's what we like about Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1.
Your Pixel phone is now a webcam.
As you can see from the nice header above, Android's native USB webcam feature has arrived. While 2020 is all about Zoom and Google Meet, we wish it was better late than never.
This feature lets you easily connect your Pixel device to your computer and use your phone as a desktop webcam in apps. There are of course many reasons why this feature needs to work, so please help Google make this feature easier to use.
Metro time
What can I say, I'm easy to please. In QPR1 Beta 1 we have a new clock face style for your Pixel lock screen. It's called a meteor and it's hot.
New battery information screen
In the About Phone section of your Pixel device, you can now view detailed battery information beyond the usual charge level and usage statistics. In QPR1 Beta 1, in the new battery information screen we can see the exact date of manufacture of the battery as well as the battery cycle. This is very good because as we know some people are very concerned about their battery data.
The only thing to note here, at least for me, is that when you first download Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1, the cycle count is set to 0. It seems to be working out well for Kellen. Maybe it's wrong for me? Maybe it's a beta version?
Set the type of Bluetooth audio device
In QPR1 Beta 1, users can now select the type of audio device to which a specific Bluetooth connection connects. Options are currently limited to Speaker, Headphone, Hearing Aid, Car Kit, Unknown or Other.
The excellent @MishaalRahman points out that this can be very useful if your Pixel supports spatial audio but doesn't properly recognize a Bluetooth device. Manually controlling this setting helps with this.
We are still digging through this update. It's a big deal, so you better believe we'll let you know if we find something else to enjoy. Have you found anything you like yet?
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