The world’s most widespread cellular 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 a degree to enhance the expertise for bigger screens, like tablets and folding smartphones. Android 14 remains to be in growth and is at present solely out there as a developer preview, however the ultimate model will doubtless land in your telephone within the fall. Here, we break down the options which have caught our eye to this point, and we’ll be including extra as the corporate shares further new options over the approaching months.

If you are questioning, Google formally dropped the alphabetical Android dessert names with Android 10, however the variations are nonetheless codenamed internally with the identical system. Last yr’s Android 13 was Tiramisu, so this yr’s “U” letter dessert is known as Upside Down Cake. Let’s dig in. 

How to Download and Install Android 14

Google has launched two developer previews of Android 14 to this point. These previews allow builders to check the forthcoming model of the cellular working system, study any new options, and put together their apps or video games to work with it correctly. We don’t advocate putting in Android 14 but as a result of it’s nonetheless buggy and unstable and you need to leap by way of a couple of hoops. It will not be lengthy earlier than Google releases the official beta, and we advocate ready for that as a substitute.

If you’re decided to strive the preview, you will want to have a Google Pixel smartphone (Pixel 4A 5G or later) and should unlock the bootloader, which is able to wipe it, erasing all the pieces. If you’ve gotten a spare telephone you wish to strive that with, listed here are the official Android Developers’ instructions. Make positive to back up your Android phone first.

Top Android 14 Features

We are highlighting our favourite options and enhancements to this point, however there’s hypothesis about what’s going to make the ultimate minimize. You can be taught extra at Google’s developer site. From what we have seen, Android 14 is basically trying like a small improve over its predecessor, with no main developments. 

Improved Battery Life

There is not any headline characteristic right here, however Google has put some critical effort into bettering the effectivity of Android to scale back energy drain. Changes to how the working system handles background duties, downloads, and uploads, alongside a couple of different tweaks, ought to allow Android homeowners to squeeze somewhat extra life from their telephone batteries. It additionally seems to be as if the choice to test “screen time since last full charge” within the battery settings menu (eliminated in Android 12) is again.

Larger Fonts and Smarter Scaling

Switching to a bigger font in Android 13 was restricted to 130 p.c on Google’s Pixel telephones, however Android 14 means that you can scale fonts as much as 200 p.c. To forestall wonky layouts, the system makes use of nonlinear scaling, which implies any phrases which are already scaled up (akin 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 out there on different Android smartphones (like Samsung gadgets) and iPhones for years, however it hasn’t been baked into the working system itself. You can activate one or the opposite, or each, and select the colour your show will flash. Primarily designed to help people with hearing loss, it could turn out to be useful for anybody who would not need their telephone to make a noise or buzz with each incoming notification.

Better Support for Large Screens

The very first thing Google introduced within the preliminary developer preview was assist for builders making an attempt to construct apps that adapt gracefully to completely different display screen sizes. With extra instruments and design recommendation out there for builders, we will anticipate apps that work nicely throughout smartphones, folding telephones, and tablets. This would mirror what Apple has finished to make its app ecosystem transition seamlessly from iPhone to iPad to MacBook. 

Restricting Photo and Video Access

If you’re uncomfortable with the all-or-nothing nature of granting an app entry to your images and movies, you’ll be happy to be taught that Android 14 provides an possibility to pick the precise images and movies it’s allowed to entry. Apple launched a similar feature in iOS 14.

Enhanced Security

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.

Regional Preferences

Whether you favor the temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit, Monday or Sunday as the beginning of your week, or particular calendars or numerals, you may set these systemwide in Android 14 and they’ll persist by way of backup and restore. There can also be improved assist for gendered languages like French, and higher language customization primarily based on area.

Satellite Connectivity

There has been 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. Support for such connectivity in Android 14 was confirmed by this tweet from Google’s senior vice chairman for Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer. Precisely what this can imply remains to be unclear, however it might convey higher connectivity to distant areas that at present lack cell service. 

Predictive Back 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 shouldn’t be at present apparent the place a again swipe will take you in Android; generally it’s the residence display screen, generally a earlier display screen or an app. This will hopefully clear issues up. 

App Cloning

Folks 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 supply methods to do that with choose apps, and there are workarounds, however an official Android possibility within the settings menu will doubtless work higher. This is one thing Google is only testing proper now, and it might not make the ultimate Android 14 launch.

Health Connect

You would possibly use one app to your sensible scales, one other for operating, and one more to trace your sleep. Google’s Health Connect app gives a solution to centralize your well being and health knowledge and share it throughout completely different apps and companies, although it’s nonetheless in beta. There’s hypothesis that the app could come preinstalled on all Android 14 gadgets.

Improved Share Options

The share menu in Android has lengthy been inconsistent throughout completely different Android gadgets and apps. Android 14 would not assure an enchancment, however there’s an opportunity Google may standardize and enhance on the present mixture of share sheets that pop up once you attempt to share something. It’s on our want checklist. 

The Android 14 Timeline

Android 14 is at present in developer preview. We’ll doubtless hear an incredible deal extra about new options throughout Google I/O, the corporate’s developer convention that takes place on May 10. Expect 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 normally first to get the replace; you may need to test your gadget’s software program coverage to see whether or not and once you’ll get it.