Beta 4 arrived

[I Can Be Your Hero]

Beta 4 shows Google still haven't figured out who to handle the back gesture. Apps with slide out menus just close when you need to slide in. Don't know how the general consumer is supposed to know what the back gesture does now. Does it slide in menus, does it back out and close the app?

Plus my issues with the swipe up gesture still persist. When you're in an app, swiping up and right is nice and smooth and you can go do the previous app. But when your on the home screen, it'll slide up the app drawer and not the previous app.

Also I've noticed it's really hard to being up the app drawer when on the home screen. It requires a little swipe up and hold, but that area seems to be so small, it's hard to find it consistently, so it mostly just leads to the app draw being bright up or it goes back down and stays with the home screen.

Isn't this the final beta? Android Q isn't far away and their gestures are a mess. They need to fix these issues up.

 

[eric002]

That's the truth, the back gesture breaks certain hamburger menus and applications. I just deal with it. As far as the other gestures of the UI, feeling smooth honestly in my opinion.

 

[Mike Dee]

Beta 4 shows Google still haven't figured out who to handle the back gesture. Apps with slide out menus just close when you need to slide in. Don't know how the general consumer is supposed to know what the back gesture does now. Does it slide in menus, does it back out and close the app?

Plus my issues with the swipe up gesture still persist. When you're in an app, swiping up and right is nice and smooth and you can go do the previous app. But when your on the home screen, it'll slide up the app drawer and not the previous app.

Also I've noticed it's really hard to being up the app drawer when on the home screen. It requires a little swipe up and hold, but that area seems to be so small, it's hard to find it consistently, so it mostly just leads to the app draw being bright up or it goes back down and stays with the home screen.

Isn't this the final beta? Android Q isn't far away and their gestures are a mess. They need to fix these issues up.

Have you reported your findings and suggestions to Goggle from within the Beta?

By the way I can pull up recent apps from the home screen. It's a quick left arc up. Sometimes I do miss it so it could use some improvement.

 

[cbreze]

Checking their beta time line it shows 2 more betas before final. One in July and one in August. So maybe it’ll smooth out some more before the general populace gets it.

 

[dov1978]

Also I've noticed it's really hard to being up the app drawer when on the home screen. It requires a little swipe up and hold, but that area seems to be so small, it's hard to find it consistently, so it mostly just leads to the app draw being bright up or it goes back down and stays with the home screen.

I'm seeing zero issues with it tbh and I've only had my 3xl a day. You swipe straight up from anywhere near the bottom centre (from the bottom bezel) until you feel the haptic feedback which tells you the recent app drawer is locked in place then release. It's so easy and works everytime. If you want to switch between apps you just swipe the little white line at the bottom left or right like you did with on Nougat. I came from the Mate 20 Pro and it used the exact same gesture system so maybe I'm used to it but it feels like chlids play to me personally

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

That's the truth, the back gesture breaks certain hamburger menus and applications. I just deal with it. As far as the other gestures of the UI, feeling smooth honestly in my opinion.

I don't know how Google intends to fix the issue, or if they can. I'm guessing every app developer that uses a slide in menu will have to enter code to bypass the OS back gesture when pulled in from that side?

It's just confusing and unintuitive as it is right now.

Have you reported your findings and suggestions to Goggle from within the Beta?

By the way I can pull up recent apps from the home screen. It's a quick left arc up. Sometimes I do miss it so it could use some improvement.

I've found it's become much more difficult to pull up the recents apps from the screen with Beta 4. I don't recall it being that hard on Pie, but I don't get the vibration to confirm the recents app.

But the bigger point is that when you're on the home screen, you lose the smooth animation of the up right gesture to smoothly drag in the previous app because it tries to being in the app drawer in a stiff, vertical motion. But then when you're in an app and do the *exact* same thumb motion, you get this nice, smooth animation to move to the previous app. It's clunky and unintuitive.

Another issue is when you're in YouTube watching in landscape full screen, I tried to swipe back (side swipe from where the speaker is) so I can exit out of the full screen and it doesn't do anything. You have to swipe up from the bottom for the OS gestures to activate then you swipe from the side to back.

While gestures on something like the iPhone X are fantastic, on Android with a dedicated OS-level back function and app drawer, it seems to complicate gestures and makes it very unintuitive to use. I can't imagine someone like my mum using this gesture system as it's not consistent and it seems like you never truly know what the gestures will do. There's no consistency between apps and between having an app on the screen vs being on the homescreen. On the iPhone, it's extremely easy and consistent to use.

I'm seeing zero issues with it tbh and I've only had my 3xl a day.

We're talking about the Android Q Beta 4, not Android Pie (the software your phone came with). So unless you got your phone and immediately installed Beta 4, we're not discussing the same thing.

 

[dov1978]

Yep it's Android Q Beta 4. I installed it straight away purely for dark mode and the familiar gestures

 

[mschmiechen]

I just saw that the 'at glance' widget is now showing my events from my exchange calendar. it was never showing this in the past (just for Gmail calendar entries). I don't know if this is new in Beta 4 or if this has been pushed by an Google app update. it's just great!

 

[mustang7757]

I just saw that the 'at glance' widget is now showing my events from my exchange calendar. it was never showing this in the past (just for Gmail calendar entries). I don't know if this is new in Beta 4 or if this has been pushed by an Google app update. it's just great!

That's good to hear

 

[eric002]

That's good to hear

Actually that's awesome, how did you get that happen? I have my exchange calendar through Gmail application and it doesn't work like that.

 

[mustang7757]

Actually that's awesome, how did you get that happen? I have my exchange calendar through Gmail application and it doesn't work like that.

Yeah definitely, I meant also for pie.

 

[eric002]

Yeah definitely, I meant also for pie.

Alrighty, got you, makes more sense haha

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

Managed to use action launcher with full gestures. That is good. I wanted icon packs back.

 

[weiny]

Do banking apps work in beta 4 like Amex mobile and Citibank?

What about WhatsApp? Anyone have any issues?

 

[GSDer]

Do banking apps work in beta 4 like Amex mobile and Citibank?

What about WhatsApp?

The Citi Mobile https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.citi.citimobile app and WhatsApp both work fine on my Pixel 2 XL running the Android Q Beta 4.
Can't speak to Amex.

 

[weiny]

Anyone else have the Amex app on Beta 4?

Trying to decide if it's stable enough to put on my daily driver.

Do you think I should wait?

 

[eric002]

Anyone else have the Amex app on Beta 4?

Trying to decide if it's stable enough to put on my daily driver.

Do you think I should wait?

Sorry, I use BOA.

 

[J Dubbs]

Anyone else have the Amex app on Beta 4?

Trying to decide if it's stable enough to put on my daily driver.

Do you think I should wait?

There's supposed to be 6 betas and the final release..... I'll be waiting for the seventh one lol ;-)

 

[Mike Dee]

Anyone else have the Amex app on Beta 4?

Trying to decide if it's stable enough to put on my daily driver.

Do you think I should wait?

I know they fixed some banking apps and Firefox but not sure about Amex

 

[eric002]

There's supposed to be 6 betas and the final release..... I'll be waiting for the seventh one lol ;-)

Hahaha honestly though, the only main issues I've seen since beta 1 of Android Q is Android auto doesn't work, and RCS and Android messaging is finicky at best. It's not life and death breaking issues though. but I will be happy when Android Q is finalized It is nice to be a beta tester over all those!