Android 16 Beta 4.1 With Fixes for 4K Video Recording, Battery Drain Issues Rolling Out for Pixel

Google on Wednesday rolled out the Android 16 Beta 4.1 to developers and testers. Initially available on Pixel devices, it arrives as the latest testing version of Google’s operating system with fixes for several bugs that have impacted users in previous versions. This includes rectifications for issues related to 4K video recording, haptics, weather map, and Google app. The Mountain View-based tech giant says it also improves constant battery drain issues that have been reported on Pixel phones.

Android 16 Beta 4.1 Update: What’s New

Android 16 Beta 4.1 builds upon the previous release of the second major platform stability release, which meant developer APIs and all app-facing behaviours in this version are final and will be released in the public version as is. Google’s release notes state that the latest beta fixes an issue which caused poor haptic performance when using the app drawer, typing, or using the back gesture.

The update also fixes a bug that impacted 4K video recording when using 4x telephoto zoom. As per Google’s issue tracker, the camera stopped after a few seconds when recording at 4K 30 fps. The radar map was also reported to disappear in the Pixel weather app. Other fixes are for known issues related to black navigation bar appearing on transitions and the Google app crashing when loading a website.

Meanwhile, a battery drain issue was also reported with a “high” effect. It was reported to occur simultaneously and has been fixed following the Android 16 Beta 4.1 update.

As per Google, the following Pixel devices are eligible to receive the Android 16 Beta 4.1 update:

1. Google Pixel 9 Series
2. Google Pixel 9a
3. Google Pixel 8 Series
4. Google Pixel Tablet
5. Google Pixel Fold
6. Google Pixel 7 Series
7. Google Pixel 6 Series

You should automatically receive an over-the-air (OTA) update if you’ve enrolled your handsets in the lineup in the company’s beta programme. Notably, updates are usually released in a phased approach and thus, may take a couple of days to be available to all beta testers. You can navigate to the Settings app > System > Software update > System update > Check for updates to check for the latest Android 16 Beta update,