Google rolls out April Android Canary build with new experimental Pixel features

Google has just released a new Android Canary build, giving developers early access to features still in testing. The new release, marked Android Canary 2604 (ZP11.260320.007), is now available for a wide range of Pixel devices, including the Pixel 8 series and above. It was released a few days earlier this month, considering we got last month’s Canary build (2603) on March 19.

Google says images for the Pixel 7a, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7, Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet will be released at a later date.

What’s new in Android Canary 2604?

The Canary channel is Google’s experimental Android track, and the features included here are under active development. As such, the company explicitly advises against installing these builds on primary devices to avoid instability and unexpected issues.

According to Google’s Mishaal Rahman, the new Android Canary build brings the following user-facing tweaks:

• There’s a new “You’re all caught up” message when you clear all notifications, replacing the older “No notifications” text.
• App icon long-press menus are now more compact, with shortcuts initially collapsed behind a new “Shortcuts” toggle.
• After expanding shortcuts, the actions menu is also collapsed by default and can be revealed via an “Actions” toggle.

It’s important to note that once you install a Canary build, you won’t be able to roll back to the stable version so easily. To stop receiving Canary OTA updates, you’ll have to flash a non-Canary build, and that will require a full data wipe.