The world’s most in style cell working system has one other new model improve within the works—Android 14—which guarantees enhancements to privateness, safety, and efficiency. Google, the corporate that manages the OS, has additionally made it some extent to enhance the expertise for bigger screens, like tablets and folding smartphones. Android 14 continues to be in growth and is at the moment solely obtainable as a developer preview, however the remaining model will doubtless land in your telephone within the fall. Right here, we break down the options which have caught our eye up to now, and we’ll be including extra as the corporate shares extra new options over the approaching months.
When you’re questioning, Google formally dropped the alphabetical Android dessert names with Android 10, however the variations are nonetheless codenamed internally with the identical system. Final yr’s Android 13 was Tiramisu, so this yr’s “U” letter dessert is known as Upside Down Cake. Let’s dig in.
The right way to Obtain and Set up Android 14
Google has launched two developer previews of Android 14 up to now. These previews allow builders to check the forthcoming model of the cell working system, find out about any new options, and put together their apps or video games to work with it correctly. We don’t suggest putting in Android 14 but as a result of it’s nonetheless buggy and unstable and you must soar by means of a couple of hoops. It will not be lengthy earlier than Google releases the official beta, and we suggest ready for that as a substitute.
In case you are decided to strive the preview, you have to to have a Google Pixel smartphone (Pixel 4A 5G or later) and should unlock the bootloader, which can wipe it, erasing all the pieces. When you have a spare telephone you wish to strive that with, listed below are the official Android Developers’ instructions. Be sure to back up your Android phone first.
Prime Android 14 Options
We’re highlighting our favourite options and enhancements up to now, however there’s hypothesis about what’s going to make the ultimate minimize. You’ll be able to study extra at Google’s developer site. From what we have seen, Android 14 is basically wanting like a small improve over its predecessor, with no main developments.
Improved Battery Life
There isn’t any headline function right here, however Google has put some critical effort into enhancing the effectivity of Android to scale back energy drain. Modifications to how the working system handles background duties, downloads, and uploads, alongside a couple of different tweaks, ought to allow Android house owners to squeeze just a little extra life from their telephone batteries. It additionally appears to be like as if the choice to verify “display screen time since final full cost” within the battery settings menu (eliminated in Android 12) is again.
Courtesy of Google
Bigger Fonts and Smarter Scaling
Switching to a bigger font in Android 13 was restricted to 130 % on Google’s Pixel telephones, however Android 14 lets you scale fonts as much as 200 %. To stop wonky layouts, the system makes use of nonlinear scaling, which suggests any phrases which can be already scaled up (corresponding to headings) will not develop bigger, making the textual content extra readable for folks with vision impairment.
Notification Flashes
Android 14 lets you activate digital camera flashes and display screen flashes for incoming notifications. This has been obtainable on different Android smartphones (like Samsung gadgets) and iPhones for years, but it surely hasn’t been baked into the working system itself. You’ll be able to activate one or the opposite, or each, and select the colour your show will flash. Primarily designed to help people with hearing loss, it might probably turn out to be useful for anybody who does not need their telephone to make a noise or buzz with each incoming notification.
Higher Help for Massive Screens
The very first thing Google introduced within the preliminary developer preview was assist for builders attempting to construct apps that adapt gracefully to completely different display screen sizes. With extra instruments and design recommendation obtainable for builders, we will anticipate apps that work effectively throughout smartphones, folding telephones, and tablets. This might mirror what Apple has performed to make its app ecosystem transition seamlessly from iPhone to iPad to MacBook.
Courtesy of Google
Limiting Photograph and Video Entry
In case you are uncomfortable with the all-or-nothing nature of granting an app entry to your photographs and movies, you’ll be happy to study that Android 14 provides an choice to pick out the precise photographs and movies it’s allowed to entry. Apple launched a similar feature in iOS 14.
Enhanced Safety
Since malware tends to focus on older variations of Android to keep away from safety enhancements in newer variations, Android 14 will not allow you to set up older apps from Android 5.1 and earlier. There are a couple of different behind-the-scenes tweaks to enhance safety, however maybe most notable is improved assist for authentication with passkeys enabling biometric login as a substitute of utilizing passwords for extra apps.
Courtesy of Google
Regional Preferences
Whether or not you like the temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit, Monday or Sunday as the beginning of your week, or particular calendars or numerals, you possibly can set these systemwide in Android 14 and they’ll persist by means of backup and restore. There’s additionally improved assist for gendered languages like French, and higher language customization primarily based on area.
Satellite tv for pc Connectivity
There was some buzz about satellite connectivity for phones for some time now, particularly since Apple debuted Emergency SOS via Satellite with the iPhone 14 final yr. Help for such connectivity in Android 14 was confirmed by this tweet from Google’s senior vp for Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer. Exactly what it will imply continues to be unclear, but it surely might deliver higher connectivity to distant areas that at the moment lack cell service.
Predictive Again Gestures
Google has not formally introduced this, however the newest developer preview includes predictive back gestures, which afford you a glimpse of the display screen a swipe-back gesture will take you to. It isn’t at the moment apparent the place a again swipe will take you in Android; generally it’s the dwelling display screen, generally a earlier display screen or an app. It will hopefully clear issues up.
App Cloning
Of us with two accounts in the identical app will respect this one. A second occasion of an app lets you use two accounts concurrently. Some smartphone producers provide methods to do that with choose apps, and there are workarounds, however an official Android choice within the settings menu will doubtless work higher. That is one thing Google is only testing proper now, and it could not make the ultimate Android 14 launch.
Well being Join
You may use one app in your good scales, one other for working, and yet one more to trace your sleep. Google’s Health Connect app gives a option to centralize your well being and health knowledge and share it throughout completely different apps and providers, although it’s nonetheless in beta. There’s hypothesis that the app might come preinstalled on all Android 14 gadgets.
Improved Share Choices
The share menu in Android has lengthy been inconsistent throughout completely different Android gadgets and apps. Android 14 does not assure an enchancment, however there’s an opportunity Google may standardize and enhance on the present mixture of share sheets that pop up if you attempt to share something. It is on our want record.
The Android 14 Timeline
Android 14 is at the moment in developer preview. We’ll doubtless hear an amazing deal extra about new options throughout Google I/O, the corporate’s developer convention that takes place on Could 10. Count on an official beta to land quickly after (if not the identical day) and months of beta releases till Google unveils the ultimate model in late August or early September. Pixel telephones are often first to get the replace; you may should verify your gadget’s software program coverage to see whether or not and if you’ll get it.
