Android P Beta: Is It Worth the Try?

The upcoming major version Android P has been announced for some months now and is already available for beta testing on several devices. However, people might be hesitant to install it given its incomplete state at the moment.

Luckily, several reports are now up sharing how Android P beta has performed on some devices giving others a hint of what to expect from the yet-to-be-perfected system update.

To begin with, it is important to note that beta versions are generally unstable and arrive with bugs that developers are yet to fix or even discover. So anyone who decides to install Android P beta should expect to experience crashes and sudden reboots from time to time.

Recently, Android Authority shared their experience with Android P beta installed on Pixel XL and Essential Phone for two weeks of regular use. As expected, they have seen apps crashing, however, commented that it is not as often they have expected. Apps that are reportedly most likely to crash include Instagram and Slack.

On the other hand, the same report mentioned that Google Maps and Pocket Casts streaming are working fine even on Android P beta.

Normally, beta versions of system updates also affect the battery performance of a device and causes it to drain faster. However, Android Authority’s testing has so far shown that this issue is minimal.

In another recent report from 9To5Google, Android P beta has also been reviewed as a fairly stable install considering that it is still in its earlier phase of development. But both reports cited several instances of device reboots.

So far, there are several smartphones officially listed that can run with Android P beta including Essential Phone, all Google Pixel branded smartphones, Nokia 7 Plus, OnePlus 6, Oppo R15 Pro, Sony Xperia XZ2, Vivo X21UD, Vivo X21, and Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S. Links to instructions on how to install Android P beta in these devices are also provided in Android’s page.