Google doubles down on today's preview builds with Android 17 QPR2 Beta 5

Testing the latest Android preview builds can be a lot of fun for dedicated Pixel users of the right mindset, and today they’ve got their pick of options. We only just saw Google release Android Canary 2609 a little earlier this afternoon, and now Google’s already following that up with the latest Android 17 QPR2 build.

With Android 17 QPR1 now stable and out, Pixel owners are looking to QPR2 for an early preview of the changes to expect from Google’s next big platform update, later this year. It’s been a couple weeks now since we saw QPR2 Beta 4 land, and now Android 17 QPR2 Beta 5 is ready for deployment.

According to Google’s release notes, we’ve got quite a few fixes to look forward to:

• Changing a Bluetooth device type in settings failed to update its icon visually. (Issue #516071134)
• A system stability issue that caused unexpected device reboots during continuous UI scrolling in media-heavy applications. (Issue #544291113)
• Pressing hardware volume buttons while casting media prevented the system volume slider UI from displaying. (Issue #548145018)
• Fixed a text-rendering issue that caused unexpected background highlights to appear when typing in search fields, and resolved a navigation routing issue that prevented Private Space from unlocking correctly. (Issue #548285596)
• Enhanced HDR mode remained enabled despite being turned off in user settings. (Issue #547457910)
• Launching Google Wallet via the power button shortcut caused the touchscreen to become unresponsive. (Issue #549758084)
• Camera crashes during panorama processing. (Issue #551069625)
• Bluetooth audio experiences noise and distortion after completing or answering a call. (Issue #541684282)

We’re already digging through the release looking for any additional changes, and will let you know about any confirmed finds.

Here’s one we just spotted: We’re getting a new “Audio streams” Quick Settings tile that opens the page where we can quickly join active Auracast streams.

And here, you can see a slight tweak to the context selection menu when viewing recent apps:

Not everything’s an addition, though, and we do notice that Google seems to be walking back its media player and brightness bar reorganization in Quick Settings. We’re also spotting what looks like an expansion of tweaks that first debuted on Pixel 11 models, like the renaming of the Battery option in Settings to “Battery & charging,” and a reorganization of the accompanying screen, including the new screen saver option:

Availability for QPR2 Beta 5 extends from the Pixel 6a all the way up to the Pixel 11 series. The 6a, Pixel 7 models, and the Pixel Tablet are getting build CP41.260828.005.A6, and it’s CP41.260828.004.A8 for everybody else.

If you’d like to take your Pixel for a spin down the QPR2 rabbit hole, you can register your device for Google’s Android Beta for Pixel program. Just do yourself a favor and make quite sure you’ve backed up any important data before getting started.