The hottest topic in the world of Android right now is Android P, and rightly so. Google has been betting big on their upcoming Android version, and have already released Beta 1 and Beta 2 of the new version of Android. Now, while the Beta 3 or the Developer Preview 4 was supposed to be delivered about a week ago, as per the timeline Google shared earlier, I can happily say that it is finally here.
As announced in an official blog post, Google has released the third beta of Android P, which is supposed to be a “near-final” look at the OS before it’s completed later this year.
The new Android P Beta 3 update does not bring anything major, apart from a few minor changes to the overall UI. The pill slider now occupies the whole length of the nav bar as opposed to only the right half. Speaking of that, the apps in the recents section appear to be bigger than before, making it easier to interact with their live status.
Almost all the icons now feature more clear outlines, seem to have been slimmed down for a cleaner look.
Another change that is sure to please users is a dedicated toggle for a limited dark mode. Earlier you could change their system theme from light to dark by setting a corresponding wallpaper, Android P Beta 3 gives you a dedicated option to change your theme in the Display settings.
If you own a device that is eligible for the Android P Beta testing but you’ve been holding out, this is when it should start to be a safer bet. While the build is still a beta and some bugs are to be expected, the fact that we’re looking at an early release candidate suggests most of the major changes and optimizations should be in place. However, with the actual release date still a good number of weeks away, more optimizations could be on their way.
To install Android P Beta 3 (Developer Preview 4) on your Pixel device, head over to the Android Beta Program website and sign up to download the OTA update to Android P Beta. On the other hand, if you own a non-Pixel but Android P Eligible device, you can check out their respective download links here.
