Android 14, the most recent model of Google’s cell working system, arrived on . Since then, it has slowly began rolling out to some newer telephones, tablets and foldables. Android 14’s user-facing enhancements broadly fall into 4 classes: accessibility, customization, privateness and safety. Under, is a listing of the entire replace’s largest options, together with directions on find out how to entry and allow them.
To compile this how-to, I used a Pixel 8, so what follows displays how issues are achieved on inventory Android. On some telephones and tablets, sure choices could also be situated in different elements of the working system or require a barely completely different course of to activate. Even when that’s the case, the directions right here ought to show you how to discover your means round.
And if you wish to discover out when (or if) Android 14 will arrive in your system, try our devoted information. Briefly, many producers, together with OnePlus and Nothing, are nonetheless finalizing their first steady Android 14 builds, they usually may have extra time to finish bug and high quality assurance testing.
On the backside of this how-to, additionally, you will discover details about Google’s ongoing QPR betas, which embrace bug fixes and enhancements the corporate is testing forward of its first Android 14 Pixel Function Drop.
Accessibility
Flash notifications
New to Android 14 are flash notifications, a function that enables the OS to set off your cellphone’s digicam flash or brighten the display screen when notifications arrive or an alarm goes off. That is notably useful to individuals who could also be onerous of listening to. Beforehand, assist for flash notifications was spotty on Android, with some producers – most notably Samsung – providing it whereas others didn’t.
Customers can allow flash notifications from their system’s Settings menu. Swipe down from the highest of your cellphone’s display screen to entry the Notification Shade, then swipe down once more to develop the Fast Settings. Faucet the cog icon on the underside of proper of the display screen to entry the principle Settings menu. From there, faucet “Notifications,” then “Flash notifications.”
Two toggles permit you to allow digicam and display screen flashes independently of each other, and, in the event you faucet “Screen flash,” you may as well tweak the colour of the flash, with Pixel telephones providing 12 completely different choices.
Improved assist for listening to aids
Flash notifications aren’t the one new Android 14 function for individuals who could also be onerous of listening to. In Android 13 and prior, Google grouped listening to aids in with different Bluetooth units. Now, the previous have their very own devoted web page inside Android 14’s settings.
To entry the web page, open the Settings app, scroll down and faucet “Accessibility,” then scroll down and faucet “Hearing devices.” Right here you can find an possibility for pairing new listening to aids together with your cellphone, and a toggle that means that you can add devoted shortcuts for mentioned system. On Pixel units, customers can each add an accessibility button that lives on the facet of their cellphone’s display screen, and configure the amount buttons in order that if you maintain down each, your cellphone will take you on to the listening to units menu. There’s additionally a toggle that Google notes ought to enhance compatibility with telecoils and scale back undesirable noise.
Bigger fonts
For visually impaired customers, Google has added assist for bigger fonts and smarter scaling. On Pixel units, Android can now make textual content as much as 200 p.c bigger the place earlier than the utmost was 130 p.c. The brand new system is constructed round non-linear scaling, so textual content that’s already large – similar to titles and headings – received’t enhance in measurement as a lot as different, smaller components.
To extend the scale of textual content and interface components in your cellphone, open the Settings menu, then faucet “Display,” adopted by “Display size and text.” Along with two sliding scales that permit you to change the scale of fonts and all the things on display screen, this web page options two toggles you could activate to daring all textual content and allow excessive distinction fonts.
The primary time you tweak your cellphone’s font measurement settings, Android 14 will robotically add a font measurement settings choice to the ultimate web page of the fast settings menu. You may entry this menu by swiping down from the highest of your cellphone’s display screen to deliver down the notification shade. Swipe down once more to see the total fast settings menu. To edit the order during which menu gadgets seem, faucet the pencil icon that seems when the total fast settings menu is on display screen, after which maintain and drag the tiles you want to transfer.
Higher pinch to zoom performance
Along with extra sturdy font scaling, Android 14 encompasses a redesigned magnifier software that enables customers to rapidly customise how a lot of the display screen they’d prefer to see enlarged. The panel affords 4 completely different magnifier sizes and the choice to allow diagonal scrolling. It additionally features a scale you should use to extend or lower the zoom degree. To allow the panel, open the Settings menu, faucet “Accessibility” adopted by “Magnification. As with flash notifications, you may bind the magnifier software to an on display screen accessibility button or each quantity buttons.
Customization
Extra wallpaper and lock display screen customization
Though technically not new to Android 14, it’s greater than possible that the 2 wallpaper options Google will arrive on most non-Pixel handsets alongside Android 14. The brand new options enable customers to create customized wallpapers with as much as 14 of their favourite emoji or with the assistance of a built-in AI picture generator.
The brand new customization settings are accessible immediately from the homescreen. Lengthy press the house display screen and faucet the highest possibility, “Wallpaper & style” to open the related menu. From there, you could find the brand new AI and Emoji wallpaper choices by tapping “More wallpapers.” Each choices are located on the high of the interface.
The AI possibility has a number of limitations value holding in thoughts. To begin, it’s essential to choose a theme. As of this text, there are 12 on supply. Moreover, Google doesn’t at the moment permit you to write a immediate from scratch. As a substitute, every theme comes with a number of parameters that the person can outline, and right here once more the choices are restricted to those Google offers you.
The brand new lock display screen customization choices are accessible from the highest of the “Wallpaper & style” display screen. Faucet “Lock screen,” after which drag your finger or thumb both left or proper to scroll by means of the completely different choices. To tweak the colour and measurement of the clock, faucet “Clock color & size.” For extra tweaks, together with the brand new possibility so as to add as much as two shortcuts to your cellphone’s lock display screen, scroll down the interface.
Regional preferences
If you happen to’re an American who lives overseas (or a foreigner who finds themselves ceaselessly visiting the US), Android 14 permits customers to set system-wide preferences for whether or not apps ought to show temperatures in Celsius or Fahrenheit or deal with Sunday or Monday as the beginning of the week. Moreover, when you set these preferences, Android 14 is aware of to hold them over between backups. Individually, the OS affords extra sturdy assist for gendered languages like French and German.
To set your regional preferences, open the Settings menu, faucet “System,” then “Languages,” adopted by “Regional preferences.” Once I sat down to put in writing this story, trying to find “Regional preferences” utilizing the Settings app’s built-in search function didn’t level me in the precise path. If you happen to run into the same subject, observe the menu movement described above.
Privateness and safety
Knowledge safety
Android 14 makes it simpler to see how advertisers and different third events are utilizing your information – and thereby determine if you wish to prohibit your app permissions – with a brand new month-to-month notification that particulars any information sharing modifications the apps in your cellphone might have made up to now 30 days. You don’t must enroll in these to start out seeing them, although a footnote on notes this function is simply out there for sure apps.
Finish of assist for older apps
Android 14 doesn’t enable customers to put in apps that make use of software programming interfaces (APIs) that date again to and earlier than Android 5.1. Google’s reasoning for that is that plenty of malware applications goal vulnerabilities present in older and outdated APIs. In follow, that is principally prone to have an effect on older video games that haven’t been up to date in various years. That mentioned, if in case you have a Lollipop period app or sport put in in your cellphone if you go to obtain Android 14, it’ll proceed to work even after your cellphone begins operating the brand new OS.
Extra nuanced photograph and video sharing
Borrowing a web page from iOS, Android 14 provides extra nuanced sharing choices for pictures and movies. Now, when an app requests entry to your media information, you may select to offer it entry to all, none or solely a few of your pictures and movies. Beforehand, this was an all or nothing proposition. It’s best to see a brand new immediate reflecting the redesigned permissions the primary time an app asks for entry to your pictures and movies.
If at any level you alter your thoughts, you may evaluation all your app permissions from the Settings app. After opening the menu, faucet “Apps,” then faucet the title of this system you need to evaluation (it’s possible you’ll must faucet “See all apps” to search out the precise one you’re on the lookout for), adopted by “Permissions” after which “Photos and videos.” If you happen to plan to vary the permissions for multiple app, there’s a useful “See all apps with this permission” possibility that can seem towards the underside.
Individually, Google has additionally tweaked Android’s Share Sheet. With Android 14, builders can add customized share targets to the interface, and the OS can pull in additional app information to raised inform the precedence of actions. In principle, this could make the Share Sheet extra persistently helpful.
PIN enhancements
With Android 14, the common-or-garden pin has obtained a pair of enhancements. First, there’s a brand new possibility that means that you can disable the animation that performs on the lock display screen if you enter your PIN. In principle, this could make it tougher for onlookers to spy your code. Second, there’s a brand new auto-confirm possibility that makes it so that you don’t must faucet “Ok” after tying out your PIN, thereby lowering the time it takes to open your cellphone. For safety causes, that is solely out there with six-digit PINs.
Each choices are discovered within the “Enhanced PIN privacy” part of the “Security” settings menu. The auto-confirm unlock is enabled by default if you set a six-digit PIN.
Every little thing else
Battery life
Android 14 doesn’t embrace any tentpole battery-related options like . Nonetheless, Google claims the OS ought to be much less of an influence hog, because of refinements the corporate made to how the software program handles background duties, downloads and uploads.
Well being Join integration
In late 2022, Google launched , a platform it collectively developed with Samsung to allow well being and health apps to extra simply share information between each other with out compromising on person privateness. With Android 14, Well being Join is built-in immediately throughout the working system’s Settings. It’s accessible from the “Privacy” web page of the dashboard.
Extremely HDR
Lastly, Android 14 contains built-in assist for Google’s new Extremely HDR image format. The format embeds a excessive dynamic vary tone map immediately throughout the metadata of a picture. On units with HDR-compatible shows, Extremely HDR will produce photos with extra vibrant colours and distinction. The nifty factor in regards to the format is that it’s totally backward suitable with most units. because of the actual fact it makes use of the .jpg extension. On units with SDR shows, the viewer will see an everyday SDR picture.
What in regards to the subsequent two Pixel Function Drops?
As talked about above, Google is at the moment conducting two . For the uninitiated, these see the corporate testing tweaks that can finally arrive as a part of future Pixel Function Drops. Google is anticipated to launch the primary one earlier than the tip of the 12 months and the one after that in March. You may participate within the QPR1 and QPR2 betas by enrolling within the .
As soon as the primary Android 14 Pixel Function Drop arrives, I’ll replace this text to element what’s new – for the reason that launch timing of particular options can change. Within the meantime, what follows is a non-exhaustive record of the modifications Google has been testing. Credit score for recognizing many of those goes to former XDA Builders reporter .
QPR1
The spotlight of the primary beta is a redesigned “Software updates” web page that’s simpler to search out and brings collectively system, app and Play Retailer updates in a single place. Contemplating the quantity of faucets it at the moment takes to manually test for updates, this can be a welcome change.
One other notable enhancement sees Google tweaking the Pixel’s built-in Clock app so as to add climate data to the world clock web page. This alteration is carried over to the app’s elective widgets.
QPR2
As for the second beta, the spotlight here’s a per-app display screen recording possibility. It is a change Google has been teasing for some time, and it seems prefer it’s lastly on its means early subsequent 12 months. Elsewhere, QPR2 provides a top level view to the amount slider, making it simpler to see simply how loud your cellphone is at any given second. Some folks have additionally reported that QPR2 reduces the period of time it takes to put in software program updates anyplace from 10 to twenty minutes.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/android-14-googles-release-dates-new-features-and-everything-else-you-need-to-know-150057490.html?src=rss
