The next major version of Android won’t be ready for the general public until this fall, and given how long it takes most smartphone makers to release OTA updates or ship new phones with the latest version of Android, it could be another year or two before you’re likely to get it.
But Google is running a public beta program, which means we already have a good idea of some of the new features. There are some changes for multitasking, privacy and security in the latest beta, for example. And we already knew there’d be native support for phones with foldable displays.
There are also a few things that are hinted at in Android Q Beta 2… but which aren’t fully baked just yet. One of those seems to be a Pixel Themes app, uncovered by xda-developers.
The name suggests that the app will be exclusive to Google Pixel devices. And it’s unclear whether it will actually be released alongside Android Q — sometimes features that are found in beta releases don’t make it into the stable version. But it looks like Pixel owners my one day be able to choose icon shapes and styles and accent colors, among other things.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
- Android Q Beta 2 reveals “Pixel Themes” app [xda-developers]
It looks like a Pixel Themes app is coming to Android (or at least Pixel devices), with support for choosing accent colors, icon shapes, and more). - Google “bonito” and “sargo” devices are listed in Google Play Developer Console [/r/Android]
Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL allegedly show up in the Google Play Developer Console device catalog, but since they’re shown as “uncertified,” I wonder how authentic these details are. - Librem Laptop RAM and Storage Bump, 32GB max RAM [Purism]
Purism’s Librem 13 and Librem 15 laptops now ship with at least 8GB of RAM and 250GB of storage… and are now available with up to 32GB of RAM (twice the previous limit). - Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K gains Miracast screen mirroring [AFTV News]
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K firmware update brings Miracast screen mirroring support, lets you use your TV as a wireless display for your supports phones, tablets, or PCs. - GPD MicroPC handheld Windows computer hits the FCC [FCC]
This handheld computer, which I previewed in February, features a 6 inch display, a thumb keyboard, an Intel Celeron N4100 processor, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. It also has a whole bunch of ports including HDMI, Ethernet, USB Type-C and Type-A ports, and even an RS-232 COM port that can be used by IT pros and network administrators on the go. It’s up for pre-order for $314 through an Indiegogo campaign, but it will likely cost a bit more when it hits retail channels later this year. And now it looks like it’s received FCC certification. You can also see the user manual and close-up photos of internal components at the FCC website.
You can keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter and Facebook.
“The next major of Android won’t be ready”
“The next major of Android (version) won’t be ready”
or maybe
“The next major of Android (operating system version) won’t be ready”
Something about it sounded wrong to me.
It sounds more like “The next major R2D2 won’t be ready”
🙂
The GPD MicroPC FCC link isn’t correct.
I found this link though: https://fccid.io/2AJQ5-GPDMICROPC
At least for that link, why does the MicroPC FCC report only show 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi testing? Is the MicroPC not dual band capable (2.4 and 5 GHz bands)? If it’s not dual band, then that’s not great.
Whoops, copy and paste error. Not sure about the testing, but I’m pretty sure it supported my 5G network when I tested a pre-release unit.