Android 14

Android 14
Version of the Android operating system
Android 14 homescreen on Pixel 7
DeveloperGoogle
OS familyAndroid
Source modelOpen-source software
General
availability		October 4, 2023; 13 months ago (2023-10-04)
Latest release14.0.0_r14 (USV1.230808.028)[1] / November 4, 2024; 3 days ago (2024-11-04)
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux)
Preceded byAndroid 13
Succeeded byAndroid 15
Official websitewww.android.com/android-14/
Support status
Supported

Android 14 is the fourteenth major release and the 21st version of Android, the mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. Both the Google & AOSP versions were released to the public on October 4, 2023. The first devices to ship with Android 14 were the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

History

Android 14's Developer Preview logo

Android 14 (internally codenamed Upside Down Cake),[2] was announced on February 8, 2023. A developer preview was released immediately for the Pixel 6 and 7 series,[3] as well as a roadmap with the dates of updates.[4] This contained another developer preview, which was published on March 8,[5] as well as four monthly beta versions. The first beta was released on April 12, which received a hotfix to Beta 1.1 on April 26.[6][7] The second beta was released on May 10, which also received a hotfix to Beta 2.1 on May 25.[4] The third beta version was released on June 7, now reaching platform stability,[8] which later received a hotfix to Beta 3.1 on June 14. The fourth beta version was released on July 11.[9] Android 14 had 1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks and 5 days between Android 13's August 15, 2022 release, surpassing the Android 9–10 duration of 1 year and 4 weeks.

The beta versions are available for Pixel devices that are guaranteed Android version updates, the Pixel 4a (5G) or newer devices. Pixel 7a can also beta test Android 14 since Beta 3.[10] The Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold have been able to beta test Android 14 since Beta 4.

Features

User experience

Building on the new option added in Android 13 to set languages individually for apps, this feature has been expanded and is easier to implement for developers. Furthermore, a new "Grammatical Inflection API" has been added to gender users according to their preferred grammatical gender.[11][12]

Android 14 provides the ability to increase the font size up to 200% compared to 130% in previous versions, combined with nonlinear font scaling to prevent large text elements on screen from scaling too large.[11] It is now possible to specify which temperature unit (Fahrenheit, Celsius, or Kelvin)[13] to use in applications.[14]

The Material You design language, introduced in Android 12 and supplemented in Android 13, gets revised default colors in Android 14.[15] Android 14 also introduces additional lock screen customization options, such as multiple clock and weather styles.[16]

For devices with a larger screen, such as tablets, the taskbar is expanded in Android 14 and now shows the names of the pinned apps.[15][17]

Android 14 allows a phone to be configured as a webcam when plugged into a computer or another Android device.[18]

Android 14 adds support for the new image format Ultra HDR, to take and display high dynamic range photos with HDR compatible cameras and displays. The Ultra HDR format is backwards compatible with JPEG on standard dynamic range displays.[19][20]

Google rewrote parts of Android's Settings app to use its Jetpack Compose framework in Android 14.[21]

Battery life

Android system processes are more efficient, which provides battery life improvements.[12] In addition, there is now the option to choose directly between battery-saver mode and extreme battery-saver mode.[15]

The screen time since the last full charge is now displayed in the battery settings. The battery consumption is shown separately from system and user applications. This feature was replaced with the launch of Android 12 by showing battery usage over the past 24 hours.[15][22]

Privacy and security

Android 14 blocks the installation of apps that target versions of Android below Marshmallow (6.0). The change is intended to curb the spread of malware, which intentionally targets old versions of Android to bypass security restrictions introduced in newer versions. An Android Debug Bridge (ADB) install flag has been added to bypass the restriction.[23][24]

In order to improve privacy, the user can select which images an application may access, using a photo picker.[14]

There is also a small change for guest mode or multiuser mode, where the "Allow guest to use phone" option has been moved to the top level menu. Previously, this option was behind the guest account itself.

Health Connect

Incorporating Health Connect as one of the new features of Android 14, users can now access it through the all-new Pixel's settings menu. Health Connect collaborates with apps like Fitbit, Samsung Health, and Google Fit.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Android security 14.0.0 release 14". Google Git.
  2. ^ Friedman, Alan (April 23, 2022). "Google reveals one interesting bit of information about 2023's Android 14". Phone Arena. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "Android 14 Preview". Android Developer. February 8, 2023. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Timeline, milestones, and updates". Android Developer. February 8, 2023. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Android 14 DP2 Flash Notifications". 9to5Google. March 8, 2023. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Dave Burke (April 12, 2023). "Android 14 Beta 1". Android Developers Blog. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "Android 14 Release Notes". Android Developers Blog. April 26, 2023. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  8. ^ Burke, Dave (June 7, 2023). "Android 14 Beta 3 and Platform Stability". Android Developers Blog. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "Android 14 Beta 4". Android Developers Blog. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "Factory images for Google Pixel". Android. February 8, 2023. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Features and APIs Overview". Android. February 8, 2023. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Cosmos (February 8, 2023). "Android 14 First Developer Preview Available Now". Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "LocalePreferences.TemperatureUnit". Android for Developers. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Dave Burke (March 8, 2023). "Android 14 Developer Preview 2". Android Developers Blog. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  15. ^ a b c d 9to5Google (February 9, 2023). "Android 14 Developer Preview 1: Top new features!". YouTube. Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  16. ^ Thomas, Dallas (June 7, 2023). "Android 14's new lock screen customization is live in Beta 3". Android Police. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  17. ^ Jens (February 9, 2023). "Android 14: These are the most important innovations in the first developer preview of the new operating system". GoogelWatchBlog (in German). Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  18. ^ Amadeo, Ron (September 22, 2023). "Android phones get PC webcam capabilities in the latest beta". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  19. ^ "Android 14: More customization, control and accessibility features". Google. October 4, 2023. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  20. ^ "Ultra HDR Image Format v1.0". Android Developers. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  21. ^ Bradshaw, Kyle (February 14, 2023). "Google is gradually rewriting Android's Settings app with Jetpack Compose". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  22. ^ Aashish Singh (November 3, 2021). "Android 12 ditched last full charge battery usage stats, shows past 24hrs". PiunikaWeb. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  23. ^ Bradshaw, Kyle (January 24, 2023). "Android 14 set to block certain outdated apps from being installed". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  24. ^ Fingas, Jon (January 24, 2023). "Android 14 can block users from sideloading very old apps". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  25. ^ Sharma, Nutan. "6 Best exciting and new features of Android 14". The Writing Paradigm. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.