Once the timeline for Android Pie Developer Preview is out, it will last for a few months before being taken over by Android Q Beta program, which will most likely happen at the Google I/O 2019. We should mention here that with Android P Beta Program, search giant Google started running early previews of the next version of its operating system on smartphones that are not a part of its Nexus or Pixel range. Seven new smartphones received the Android P Beta as a result of the collaboration between Google with these OEMs. The seven new devices that got the update were Essential PH-1, Nokia 7 Plus, OnePlus 6, Oppo R15 Pro, Sony Xperia XZ2, Vivo X21 and the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S. However, we should add that not all of these were available in India.
Coming back to Android Q, Google is planning to collaborate with even more OEMs this time. So, more number of smartphones will be a part of the roster that will be getting the Android Q Beta. This information has been revealed by Android Developer Illiyan Malchev in the Android Developers Backstage podcast. According to reports that have spoken about the podcast, Malchev was asked, “I noticed that when we announced the Android Pie preview at last year’s I/O, there were several devices that were announced at that time, which I thought was new to have that many different devices coming out. I assumed that was in part due to Treble, making it easier for those devices to be….” And to this, he replied saying, “Yeah, in fact it was fully due to Treble. We had, I believe, eight OEMs including Pixels, so seven OEMs other than Pixel. And I think it was for the first time we had all of these companies line up to do developer previews and betas for Android Pie well ahead of the AOSP publication date. For reference, we tend to release the new version of Android some time in August. So at Google I/O [2018], when we did the first beta, we had all these companies lined up and that was really that amazing. The number is bigger for the upcoming Android release, which I am very happy about. I cannot share the exact numbers yet. But the trend is positive and strong, and I am very happy about this.” However, we should point out that the exact number of OEMs that will be a part of the Android Q Beta Program has not been revealed yet. Neither do we know which mobile phones would be getting it. However, we are excited to see what the search giant has planned for its next Android version.
