Android P Developer Preview 4 released for Pixel phones, brings improved gesture navigation

Google released Android P Developer Preview 4, a little later than expected. This update is available for first and second generation Pixel smartphones. Google has released the update both as a system image and as an OTA file.

The fourth release of Android P Developer Preview will serve as the penultimate beta release before the final deployment in the third quarter of this year. You can install the factory images on a Pixel with an unlocked boot loader and it does not matter if you have already installed the developer preview. However, if you have a Pixel device running Developer Preview 3, you can get OTA files that will upgrade your device to the latest version and will not require an unlocked bootloader.

If you are registered for Google's Android beta program with an eligible Pixel smartphone, you will receive an update notification in the next few days. The release notes for Android P Developer Preview 4, also known as public beta 3, indicate that there may be battery and stability issues. As always, it is recommended that you do not install the update on your primary device.

In terms of improvements, Google revises the design of the gesture navigation button The fourth iteration of the developer preview brings a new return button with Google replacing the triangle with what looks like left The home / recents button has also been slightly modified and now looks a bit darker.

Gesture navigation is also redrawn with a stretched slider that now fills the entire width of your screen and allows app glimpses to be. While Developer Preview 3 had a pill along the slider, it was removed with the new version of the developer preview, which is now closer to what you find on Apple iPhone X.

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Android Police notes that the sliding area to switch between applications fills the entire bottom of the screen and provides 6 haptic stops where the application previews are cycles. With the new gesture-based navigation system, Google is preparing Android for the future of all-screen smartphones. The gesture system is not really intuitive but Google seems to improve with each beta.

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