Today a leak tipped a changed date for a phone Google's not yet confirmed actually exists. The Google Pixel 4a, an essentials-only smartphone that'll likely act as the perfect jumping-off point for the Android 11 Beta launch - that's what's coming soon. The original assumed launch date (inside May, 2020), will now more likely be pushed to early June of 2020, right in time for the public Beta of Android 11.
Today Google revealed the release date for the first public release (in beta format) of the next major version of Android. That'll be Android 11, the Android 11 public beta, and it'll be revealed during a live stream that'll take place on June 3rd, 2020, at 11AM ET. That's 10AM Central Time, 9AM Mountain Time, and 8AM Pacific Time.
If you're in the mood to test the latest software from Apple for your iPhone or iPad, today's the day. Today Apple released their fourth betas of iOS and iPadOS 13.4 to developers and the public. Developer Beta 4 was released earlier today at 1PM EST - that's 10AM Pacific - and the public beta's been released at 4PM EST, 1PM Pacific. Indications appear to be that this release comes just before a full standard release - past Beta, that is to say.
Samsung Galaxy S20 headed up the line of devices added to Stadia functionality in an update released this week. Starting February 20th, a wider variety of Android smartphones will be able to play Stadia with the Stadia app. This includes the ASUS ROG Phone 1, ASUS ROG Phone 2, Razer Phone, Razer Phone 2, and a variety of other Samsung smartphones.
A new iteration of the Gboard Beta app for Android - made by Google - appeared today with a new concept in the emoji universe. They look like emoji images, but they're stickers. Because they're not emoji, they don't need to be cross-compatible to appear - because they're stickers, everyone who can see images in any app can see these new emoji stickers sent via chat. That includes chatrooms and messaging apps the same!
Today a preview of Microsoft's Xbox-centric cloud gaming platform Project xCloud was released with a limited iOS TestFlight program. This system has been in play in testing for some time - now it's about to be made semi-public. This is different from the testing platform on Android, due in part to "App Store policies", as suggested by Major Nelson at Microsoft. This system will appear starting today.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10 Plus users have the ability to beta test Android 10 and Samsung's own One UI 2.0 starting today. This system was launched earlier this year for the Samsung Galaxy S10, and is now active in a number of regions through the Samsung Members app. The first country to get this update today - for the Beta program - is Germany.
There's a 7-11 app here in the United States that's released a Beta version for product testing. This app was recently given a big update with Mobile Checkout and what's called "7NOW delivery" - but the interesting bit is the call out to the public issued by the Product Owner for 7-Eleven's apps just this week on Reddit. There he suggested that beta testers would get "reward points" for signing up, and that he'd be looking to get some "exclusive rewards and benefits" for testers as they "scale the beta group up" later this year.
The latest update to the Beta release of Android Q (yet-unnamed version of Android in testing on Pixel phones) revealed a simple-yet-fantastic new feature this week. Users of the Google Pixel 3a and the Google Pixel 3 XL found themselves with a new boot screen. It's nothing too revolutionary, really - it's just a fix for the eyes.
Apple's new public betas for iOS 13, iPadOS, and macOS Catalina are out, and the big question is: should you give beta software a try on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac? Only three weeks on from WWDC 2019, where developers got their first taste of the upcoming updates for Apple's phones, tablets, and computers, this public release is a chance to live on the cutting-edge, with all the risks that come with it.
Apple has opened the doors to the iOS 13 public beta, along with iPadOS 13, and if you're feeling ambitious you can try out the upcoming iPhone and iPad software on your own device today. The full release of iOS 13 isn't expected to occur until this fall, alongside the launch of Apple's newest iPhone models, but this public beta offers a - potentially buggy - preview.
Apple has released the first public beta of macOS Catalina, the latest version of its Mac software announced at WWDC 2019 earlier this month. While Catalina - aka macOS 10.15 - isn't expected to be fully released until later in the year, this public beta allows those feeling brave or ambitious (or some combination of the two) to try it out in advance.