This new version of Android doesn’t bring any major changes. With its second beta, Google already offered an operating system with excellent stability. So this third beta has two simple goals. The first is to make a few minor adjustments to improve the work done last year and to eliminate the last stubborn bugs. The second is to help developers ensure that their apps are compatible with Android 11 when the public version becomes available.
The advent of contact tracing
The only real changes in this update are: Contact Notification System. This is a technology developed in collaboration with Apple that detects and logs close contacts. This API is used for applications like StopCovid, specifically to combat the spread of the coronavirus and to warn users about possible contact with an infected person. With Android 11 beta 3, this technology becomes native to the operating system.
To benefit from Android 11, which is available here in beta 3, you must of course be a member of the Android Beta program. You also need to own one of the compatible smartphones. And of course, they are all Pixels. Pixel 2, Pixel 3, Pixel 3a and Pixel 4 (as well as possible XL variations) are available on the list. Very new Pixel 4aAccording to Google, the test we have published will also be released very soon. You can find all the possible ways to install it in our article about beta 2.
As for the general release, which will definitely come as a preview on Pixels, Google promises to distribute it in the coming weeks (same for the AOSP version), despite delays following the COVID-19 pandemic. Note that the September 8 date was confirmed by Google back in July.
