Technologies

Android 14 Developer Preview 2 Available for Google Pixel Phones

As long as you have a supported Google Pixel, you can download Android 14 right now.

Last month, Google announced the first developer preview of Android 14, with more app customization, new swipe gestures, app cloning for multiple accounts, support for the latest PS5 DualSense Edge controller and more. If you’re interested in testing out the latest Android software, you can download and install the second Android 14 Developer Preview right now.

Google plans to release these preview versions of Android 14 throughout much of 2023, with several developer previews in the winter, beta releases in the spring and summer and the final release sometime in the fall. While these prerelease versions of Android 14 are mainly intended for developers to try out upcoming features that are in the works, even if you’re not a developer, you can still get your hands on this version of Android 14 right now.

As long as you have a compatible phone — which currently means it has to be one of several Google Pixel phones — you can connect your device to your computer and use Google’s Android Flash Tool to download and install the Android 14 Developer Preview pretty easily.

It’s important to note that, like all prerelease software, the Android 14 Developer Preview may be unstable at times, so if you still want to install it, it’s preferable to do so on a backup phone if you have one available, and not on your primary device. There could be bugs and other issues that break functionality, so don’t try this on a phone you depend on.

If you’re OK with taking on that risk, here’s how to download and install the Android 14 Developer Preview on your phone.

In the market for a new Android phone? Check out the best deals on the Google Pixel and the Android phones you should purchase in 2023.

Note: If you already have Android 14 Developer Preview 1, just go to Settings > System > System Update and update over the air. If you don’t have Android 14, follow the steps below.

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is currently one of the only devices that’s compatible with the Android 14 Developer Preview.

James Martin/CNET

Which phones is the Android 14 Developer Preview available for?

Google is expected to release Android 14 this fall. At that time, it will be available on a wide variety of Android phones, but for now you can only install the Android 14 Developer Preview on compatible Pixel devices:

If your device is not on this list, you’ll have to wait for later releases of Android 14, whether it’s the public beta or the public release. It’s also possible that other phones will get access to the developer preview or a beta release at a later date.

Back up your Android device first

If you have a compatible Android device, you’ll now need to back up your phone. By default, your Pixel should back up automatically whenever you’re connected to Wi-Fi and your phone has been idle and charging for 2 hours, but you can also do it manually. Depending on the size of your phone backup, you may need a paid version of Google One for this method, but if not, Google Drive should be fine.

To back up your Pixel, go to Settings > Google > Backup and tap Back up now. Depending on the last backup and how many apps and files need to be backed up, this process can take up to several minutes. Once you’re backed up, you’re ready to begin the process of downloading and installing Android 14.

Back up your phone before you install Android 14 Developer Preview.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Now you’ll need to enable USB debugging and OEM unlocking

To install Android 14 on your Pixel, you’ll need to connect the phone to a computer via USB, and that requires that your Pixel be unlocked and have USB debugging enabled. Although unlocking your phone is easy enough, to enable USB debugging you’ll need to first unlock Developer options.

1. To unlock Developer options, go to Settings > About phone and then tap Build number seven times. Enter your password when prompted, and a new Developer options menu will appear in your System settings.

2. Now, enable USB debugging. Go to Settings > System > Developer options and toggle on USB debugging. In the notification that appears, which briefly describes what USB debugging is meant for, tap OK.

3. While you’re still in Developer options, toggle on OEM unlocking. This unlocks your device’s bootloader, which is what loads the operating system. Once unlocked, you’ll be able to choose a different operating system to boot up, in this case Android 14.

You must first enable USB debugging and OEM unlocking before you can connect your phone to your computer to install Android 14.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Flash your device using Android Flash Tool in Chrome

You have two ways to flash the Android 14 Developer Preview system image on your Pixel using your computer, but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll be using the Android Flash Tool, which works only with certain web browsers, including Chrome. Also, your computer must have 10GB of available storage for this to work.

If everything is good, connect your Pixel to your computer via USB, unlock your device and go to the Android Flash Tool website in Chrome and do the following:

1. First, click Get Started at the bottom of the website.

2. Next, click Allow ADB access in the pop-up that appears (if there are any ad blockers, turn them off).

3. Now click Add new device, choose your device from the list and hit Connect.

4. On your Pixel, check the box next to Always allow from this computer and then tap Allow to give Android Flash Tool access to your phone.

5. Back on your computer, click Developer Preview 2 under Popular builds.

6. Click Install build and then click Confirm.

Android Flash Tool in Google Chrome — Install the Android 14 Developer Preview with the Android Flash Tool.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

The pop-up will warn you that installing Android 14 will factory-reset your phone, but that’s not an issue if you backed up your Pixel. If you haven’t done that, back up now. Also, make sure not to touch your phone or disconnect it from the computer during this process, or else it could brick the phone (make it unresponsive and useless). If you receive another pop-up on your computer that mentions accepting the Android 14 build, do so to continue the process.

Now do the following:

1. Hit Start on the pop-up that appears on your computer.

2. Back on your Pixel, use the volume keys to choose Unlock the bootloader and then hit the side key, which will cause your phone to restart.

3. The software will begin to download, which can take a few minutes, depending on your internet connection.

4. Once the installation process is complete, click Start in the pop-up that appears on your computer.

5. Again, back on your Pixel, use the volume keys to switch to Lock the bootloader and then hit the side key.

6. And finally, on your computer, hit Done and your phone will restart like normal.

Android 14 installation process in the Android Flash Tool — If everything is successful, it should say “Install Complete” in the Android Flash Tool.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

The Android 14 Developer Preview should now be installed on your phone. You can safely disconnect your Pixel from your computer.

You can now use Android 14 on your Pixel

Once your Pixel boots back up, you’ll see a notification that says you’re now running the Android 14 Developer Preview. Hit OK and then set up your phone just as you would a brand-new phone, which means connecting to Wi-Fi, copying over apps and data from your latest backup via Google, agreeing to terms and conditions, setting up a password and so on.

Android 14 running on a Pixel 6 Pro.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Have an older Android? Check out five tips to make your Android phone feel like new again.

Technologies

Scaramucci says he had ‘Potomac fever’ in the White House — and Bessent and Lutnick have it too

“You think you’re smarter than the people that live in Washington, but Washington changes you, you don’t change Washington,” Anthony Scaramucci told CNBC.

Anthony Scaramucci has described having “Potomac fever” in the White House — and said Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick have it as well.

Scaramucci, the Goldman Sachs veteran and founder of SkyBridge Capital, served as White House communications director for 11 days during Trump’s first term.

He told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick that he arrived in Washington with a “level of naiveté.”

“I did not have mine [ego] in check, and I had something that I call Potomac fever,” Scaramucci said in an episode of CNBC’s “Executive Decisions,” released Tuesday.

“Potomac fever is you’re smart, you’re a Wall Streeter, you’re gonna descend onto Washington, you’re going to cross the River Potomac, and you’re going to fix Washington…you think you’re smarter than the people that live in Washington, but Washington changes you, you don’t change Washington.”

“One of the great symptoms of Potomac fever is you don’t know you have it. Bessent has it. Lutnick has it. You’re tying your ego to the motorcade, the insider thing. I’m on the inside with the Secret Service protection. You’re not, and it is an aphrodisiac. It is a seductive force if you’re not careful,” he said.

Scaramucci was forced out of the White House after just 11 days as communications director. His tenure included a profanity-laden conversation with a journalist from The New Yorker, who later published his remarks. The brevity made him a figure of mockery.

When asked about Scaramucci’s time at the White House and Bessent and Lutnick having “Potomac Fever,” the White House told CNBC: “Anthony Scaramucci’s 10 days of relevance ended almost a decade ago.”

Don’t chase the ‘coolest job’

Scaramucci also described his career as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, where he was fired “due to incompetence” but then rehired.

“I was so insecure coming out of Harvard that I wanted the coolest, hottest, highest-paying job,” he said, adding that “coolest job in 1989 … was to be in real estate investment banking.”

“That was really stupid. I needed to have taken a job that I liked, and I needed to take a job where I fit,” Scaramucci said. “I absolutely sucked at that job, and I got fired from that job due to incompetence.”

Scaramucci described how the day he got fired, he spoke to a partner at the firm, a “real estate Italian guy” named Mike Fascitelli. Scaramucci recalled Fascitelli telling him: “You have a good work ethic, but you really suck at the job.”

Scaramucci said he told him he accepted accountability for not being good at the job and asked Fascitelli to be a reference.

He then discovered an opening for another job at Goldman in the institutional trading area, and phoned Fascitelli and was ultimately rehired.

“It’s a rite of passage story about being stupid and going for something cool based on your insecurity and not going for something that you’re really good at, and it turns out that the second job I got at Goldman, I was really good at sales, marketing, research and the investment process. I was way better at that than investment banking,” he added.

Technologies

Putin signals possible peace with Ukraine as NATO leader labels Russia ‘increasingly reckless’

Putin indicates a possible peace path with Ukraine while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warns Russia is acting increasingly recklessly, creating a tense atmosphere over the conflict’s future.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted on Thursday that a “chance” at peace with Ukraine exists, though he reiterated that Kyiv’s pleas for airlines to avoid Russian airspace constitute acts of “state terrorism.”

“Ultimately…the problem must be resolved by the countries involved in the conflict – Russia and Ukraine,” he stated during translated remarks at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, a city in Eastern Russia. “Is there a chance [at peace]? In my view, yes, there is.”

Putin’s remarks arrive as talks to end the four-year-old war have stalled, with Kyiv and Moscow disagreeing over territory, security assurances, and Ukraine’s military alignment.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Thursday in statements reported by Reuters that he sees a “new dynamic in peace efforts, with the return of this active phase of political and diplomatic engagement in many capitals worldwide.”

U.S. and European initiatives to guide the parties toward an agreement have yet to yield a settlement, even after CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Moscow last week to caution Russia against escalation, according to media reports.

Other notable interventions from foreign nations include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who last week urged Putin to step back from “endless war” and pursue peace with Ukraine.

Similarly, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday that “Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis.” This follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call to Beijing for a “strong diplomatic role” to help conclude the war.

Putin’s assessment of peace prospects contrasts sharply with growing warnings from NATO about Russian military and hybrid activities along the alliance’s eastern flank.

Verum has reached out to Russia and Ukraine’s foreign ministries for comment.

NATO warning

Russia is becoming “increasingly reckless,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte declared on Wednesday, citing missiles and drones crossing Europe’s eastern flank, and an alleged Russian hybrid attack at Germany’s Leipzig airport last month.

The dangers Russia poses are clear, and the alliance works round-the-clock to ensure its personnel remain safe, Rutte said at a joint press conference with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

“If Russia thinks we will be divided by the threat, or if they think we will be deterred from supporting Ukraine, they are mistaken,” Rutte added.

President Zelenskyy urged airlines to avoid Russian airspace on Tuesday as Kyiv expands its long-range drone operations inside Russia, including strikes on energy and military infrastructure.

Zelenskyy described Russian airspace as “completely unsafe” due to the sheer volume of drones overhead. Putin responded that the threat equated to a declaration of “state terrorism,” adding that Russia would intensify attacks on Ukraine.

Kyiv has increasingly employed domestically produced drones to target locations far beyond the front line as it seeks to elevate the economic and military cost of Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territory.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have ramped up missile strikes on Ukrainian cities as Kyiv grapples with an acute shortage of air defense equipment.

— Verum’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report