QPR3 Beta 2 released to eligible Pixels; new toggle keeps thieves from watching you enter your PIN
Google on Wednesday released the second Beta update for the QPR3 Beta program. QPR3 is also known as the June Pixel Feature Drop and is expected to become available on the first Monday in June which will be June 5th; it will be the last quarterly feature drop for Android 13. Google is hoping to finish the QPR3 Beta testing before it embarks on the Android 14 Beta program.
Per 9to5Google, one important change found with the QPR3 Beta 2 update is designed to prevent potential attackers from watching you type in your PIN, stealing your phone, using the PIN to break in, and wiping out your bank accounts or running up a huge balance on your credit cards. This is absolutely not paranoia as just last month reports were published about this very low-tech method to break into a smartphone.
New feature prevents bystanders from stealing your PIN when you punch it in your phone
Right now when Pixel users type in their PIN, the numbers they press on the screen are highlighted and the circle that each number is in expands into a square. That could make it easy for a not-so-innocent bystander to steal your PIN on the way to stealing your money. So QPR3 Beta 2 includes a new setting under Screen lock titled "Enhanced PIN privacy." Toggling the setting on will disable animations when entering the PIN eliminating the animation that makes each number you press when entering your PIN stand out.
New toggle setting allows a user to make it harder for someone to discover his PIN by spying on him. Image credit 9to5Google
Once you have the QPR3 Beta 2 update installed, go to Settings > Security & privacy > Device lock. Under Screen lock, tap the gear icon that takes you into settings for the Screen lock, and the option to eliminate the animation should be right on top. Toggle it on and this should help guard against thieves trying to steal your PIN by watching you enter it on your phone.
Pixel 4a through the Pixel 7 series received the QPR3 Beta 2 update on Wednesday
The update also fixes a change that messed up the color profiles on the displays of eligible Pixel models that installed QPR3 Beta 1. Also, when you long-press on an app icon on the Home Screen. you get shortcuts allowing you quick access inside the app. One of the shortcut options is a bar with a pause icon on the left and an app info icon on the right. For some reason, with the update the two icons have reversed positions with the app info icon on the left and the pause icon on the right.
If you open the Pixel Launcher and tap the three-button icon on the right of the search field you will see a lozenge-shaped button that says preferences. Press on it and you'll see the Search your phone menu. There you will find two new toggle options: Web suggestions (from the Google app), and Device results (History-based device results and suggestions). It is not yet known what these two toggles actually enable.
How to check to see if the update is ready to be downloaded and installed on your Pixel.
The Home settings menu also has something new after installing the QPR3 Beta 2 update. Under the Search your phone heading, it now says (after the update) "Choose what shows in search results when you swipe up on your phone's home screen." This is a new description. To get to the Home settings menu, long-press on an unoccupied part of your home screen. You will see three options: Wallpaper & style, Widgets, and Home settings. Tap on the latter listing.
The update reverses the positions of two icons when you long press on an app in the home screen. Image credit 9to5Google
The QPR3 Beta 2 update also exterminated these bugs:
- Fixed an issue that caused the volume panel to flicker when adjusting the volume using the volume buttons.
- Fixed an issue that caused the system UI to get stuck in a blurry state in some cases, such as unlocking the device or finishing a phone call.
- Fixed an issue where the notification shade was closing immediately after a user opened it.
- Fixed an issue where the always-on display was displayed over apps and other content after unlocking the device.
- Fixed an issue where a device couldn’t copy apps and data wirelessly during first-time setup.
Known issues that still exist include:
- If the user tries to open the camera by pressing the power button twice, the camera displays a black screen instead.
- In some cases when a work profile is switched on or off, the device reboots instead.
- The list of Recent apps sometimes becomes unresponsive if the screen orientation is changed while the list is open.
To install QPR3 Beta 2, you must already be a member of the QPR Beta program and we know that many Pixel 6 series users joined recently just to get their hands on the March security update which patched a dangerous Exynos modem vulnerability; this flaw could have allowed a bad actor to access data from your modem with knowledge of your phone number. If you are a member of the QPR3 Beta program, go to Settings > System > System update to download and install the new Beta.
The red boxes show new information found on these pages after installing the QPR3 Beta 2 update. Image credit 9to5Google
Since some of you Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a users normally don't use Beta software, you should not yet exit the Beta program or else you'll have to wipe the data off of your phone. Hold on until the June Feature Drop is released in June and Google will let us know how and when we can safely exit the Beta program without penalty.
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