Google, an American tech company, showed developers Android 14 for the first time last month. Now, the company is back with the second developer preview. GSM Arena, a tech news site, says that the new release makes privacy, security, and performance even better, and that it keeps making tablets and foldables better.
Google’s official schedule says that after this developer preview, the first beta version will come out in April, and then three more beta versions will come out in the following months. With Android 14 Development Preview 2, apps can only see certain photos and videos, all of them, or none of them.
Credential Manager is an Android 14 platform API that lets apps use a passkey to sign in. GSM Arena says that based on feedback from the first DP, the look of the account picker in the second DP has changed, and API changes have also been made.
Apps that want to run on Android 14, which will be a very small number at first, will need permission to do things in the background. Android’s memory management system has been changed in the DP2 to make it better at using resources when apps are running in the background. Also, Android 14 will have fewer notifications that you can’t turn off and better APIs for the App Store.
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What’s New in Android 14 Developer Preview 2?
With the release of the second developer preview for Android 14, we are getting a better idea of what this year’s OS update will be like. This includes the arrival of some hidden features that were first seen in DP1 and are now being pushed by Google as official features in the DP2 announcement.
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Google’s announcement for DP2 also talks about improving the Credential Manager API, which it announced last month. This should help us get closer to the future where we won’t need passwords. In the meantime, DP2 keeps working to improve how well the system works.
For example, it stops cached apps from running much faster than Android 13 could, which should help with battery life and managing resources. Non-dismissible notifications will also be much less annoying in the future, since you can now swipe away anything that has been marked as an ongoing event when your phone is unlocked that isn’t a critical task.
This only covers what Google has said officially, but there is more. Aside from these official announcements, Google has turned on predictive back gestures for the few apps that can use them, like Google News and the system settings. When predictive back gestures are turned on in the developer options, you can see a preview of the next screen you’ll go to. This works for views inside the same app, between apps, and from apps to the home screen.
What Was in Android 14 Developer Preview 1?
On February 8, 2023, Google showed Android 14 to developers for the first time. Its only purpose is to help developers get their apps ready for the new release, so most of the announcements are about features that developers need to pay attention to. Still, there are a few things here that are worth looking at.
- Guest mode and Fast pair are two changes to the interface.
- Apps might be able to be copied on Pixel phones.
- Your fitness-tracking apps could work better together.
- There might be support for DualSense Edge in the future.
- A focus on big screens and use cases that work on all devices
- Less battery drain because tasks that run in the background have been sped up.
- The fonts are bigger and there are new settings for hearing aids, so it’s easier to read.
- Each app’s language and country settings have been made better.
- Blocking the installation of older apps makes it safer.
- A new back animation that is both useful and nice to look at is coming to Android.
Android 14: Specs and Features According To The Preview
Right now, Android 14 is just a placeholder OS for any new features and functions that Google is sure to add in the future. The first build for developers that is available right now doesn’t have many new features for users, and most of it looks and acts like Android 13 with a new version number.
Better Accessibility
Android 14 adds a cool accessibility feature that lets fonts grow and shrink in a way that isn’t linear. This means that the text on the screen can be made much bigger. Before, people who had trouble seeing could only zoom in up to 130%. They will be able to zoom up to 200% with Android 14.
Since phones are getting bigger but text is staying the same size, it makes a lot of sense to have this option built into Android. Hopefully, a lot of people will be able to use it. It’s important to note that this doesn’t just make the Android 14 font size bigger in a way that would make it one of the best phones for seniors.
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Instead, it uses smart non-linear scaling to make text that is already big enough grow less than text that gets bigger. Google says that Android can enlarge fonts up to 200%, which gives people with low vision more options for accessibility that are in line with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Changes in Grammar
With Android 14, there have been a number of changes made to make it easier for people who don’t speak English to use the device. For example, personalized translations now take into account the genders that exist in languages other than English. Another great thing about Android 14 is that it can update the list of foreign languages in an app’s settings based on the region and even change the keyboard based on the language of the app’s interface.
Privacy and Safety
On the system level, Android 14 will have a few new anti-malware features that close known security holes by blocking app installations or only letting them happen if they meet certain criteria. The SDK that the app says it wants to use is the most important one. The app won’t be put on the phone if the SDK is too old.
This could stop bad people from taking advantage of security holes in older Android SDKs. Specifically, Android 6 has been chosen as the level below which apps can no longer be installed on a modern Android phone. This decision was made in part because this version of Android added runtime permissions.
Apps made for Android 5.1 or earlier won’t be able to get into the app drawer on an Android 14 phone. The way applications are loaded is another thing that has been changed in the security section. By adding code to the process, someone with bad intentions can change these.
In Android 14, these will be set to “read-only” to close another door that bad people often use to install malware and other exploits. Passkeys, which are biometric passwords that are much easier to use than passwords, will also work with Android 14. Users who have saved a passkey will be able to sign in to any device with just a swipe of the finger.
Battery Life and Performance
Android 14 will make the mobile operating system work better overall and use less power to do things that don’t need to be done. It will do this by optimizing processes that run in the background and only showing actionable requests to apps when they are no longer cached.
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Also, apps like clocks, calendars, and the like that don’t need a strict time schedule won’t be able to constantly check for resources by setting precise alarms without the user’s explicit permission. This should improve how well the system works. Google is also making it harder to use foreground services, so that only the most important tasks on a device can use them. This might make the Android system work better and do its job better.
Android 14 Release Date
In August 2023, people will be able to buy Android 14. As of February 2023, Android 14 is a developer beta that isn’t for regular people and shouldn’t be used as a daily driver. In April, we’ll get a beta version that’s easier to use and shows us more of what’s coming. After that, Pixel phones will keep getting beta updates until August, when Android 14 will be released.
