Two years after the introduction of the Materials You design language, Google is continuous to roll out refinements and tweak the general aesthetic. That was an enormous a part of Android 13, and Android 14 follows in the same vein. That mentioned, there is a larger deal with customization this yr, and Google has lavished consideration in areas which were uncared for in current Android releases. There are a number of modifications to accessibility options, the Android share sheet is lastly getting an overhaul that makes it extra constant throughout gadgets, and the predictive again gesture is a helpful addition that modifications the way you navigate.
All in all, Android 14 is an incremental replace, however that is not a nasty factor. There are nonetheless a number of tweaks that find yourself making an actual distinction in how you employ your cellphone, and in the end, that is what you are want in a brand new Android launch. I used Android 14 for a number of months on a Pixel 7, beginning out with the primary public beta and putting in the secure construct as quickly because it grew to become accessible.
The secure Android 14 construct is proscribed to pick Pixels in the meanwhile, however it will likely be rolling out to third-party producers within the coming weeks. So let’s check out the whole lot that is new, and when you can begin utilizing Android 14 in your cellphone.
Android 14 takes customization to a brand new degree
Google is lavishing a number of consideration to the lock display in Android 14, and that features significantly better customizability. You now get to decide on between eight clock types, and you should utilize the Materials You coloration scheme right here or go along with customized colours — there is a selection of 10 accessible. I just like the clock faces fairly a bit; they go collectively very well with the Materials You widgets, and also you get loads of quirky types.
The clock modifications dimension in accordance with lock display content material, so in case you have a number of unread notifications, it shrinks in width so it would not dominate consideration. The clock faces look good in always-on mode as effectively, and whereas Google is not making any modifications to how AOD works on its gadgets proper now — that will are available Android 15 — there’s rather a lot to love with lock display customization. Oh, and you’ll customise the lock display with out having to go to the house display; simply lengthy press whilst you’re nonetheless on the lock display, and also you get a button on the backside to customise the web page.
One other large change on this space is the addition of customizable shortcuts (lastly!); you may add two shortcuts to the underside of the lock display, and these can be utilized to launch the digicam, pull up the QR code reader, flashlight, allow DND, launch video mode, and so forth. I am nonetheless just a little aggravated that there is no strategy to floor good residence controls with a protracted press of the facility button — that was a characteristic I used extensively till Android 12 — however with a Dwelling shortcut, there’s the power to manage good lights and so forth with out having to go to the house display.
A very cool characteristic is the power to create customized wallpapers. Emoji workshop — a characteristic that debuted earlier this yr — allows you to design enjoyable emoji patterns and use these as your cellphone’s background, and there is a number of potential to create enjoyable designs. What I like extra is the AI wallpaper characteristic; it makes use of a set of textual content prompts to provide you with differentiated backgrounds, and the impact is placing.
The characteristic makes use of text-to-image diffusion fashions and makes use of generative AI to create the backgrounds, and whilst you’re restricted to a set of preset prompts, there’s sufficient selection to provide you with loads of distinctive designs. There is not any scarcity of AI-based text-to-image turbines in the meanwhile — I am a fan of Secure Diffusion — however having this characteristic simply accessible in your cellphone makes all of the distinction, and permits a wider viewers to strive it out.
After all, it stays to be seen if different manufacturers will make the most of these modifications in their very own skins. Samsung has its personal tackle lock display customization that was rolled out final yr in One UI 5, and it would not appear like ColorOS 14 will decide up both characteristic.
There are many smaller modifications as effectively; the clipboard overlay that reveals up once you copy textual content is now minimized by default, so it would not are available the way in which of utilizing the keyboard. If it’s essential to make any modifications, you may simply faucet the overlay and pull up the textual content window. The again button has a brand new design the place it is enclosed in a circle, and it makes use of the identical Materials You accent colours as the remainder of the interface.
Android’s share menu is getting a constant design
Google rolled out a number of usability modifications in Android 14, however the one which I would like to speak about is the share sheet redesign. Android’s share sheet — the menu you get once you hit the share button in a service — has had its share of points over time; it was sluggish and buggy in earlier variations of Android, and whereas Google overhauled it in Android 10, most producers had their very own implementation by that time.
That is why you do not discover a constant design when switching between completely different telephones. As an example, Samsung tends to favor a horizontally-scrolling app record (I do not know why the model hates vertical scrolling), and it is not as simple to make use of because the default Android normal. Equally, ColorOS 13 would not present contacts once you attempt to share a photograph or doc, and MIUI has too many particulars in its share sheet, making it more durable to make use of.
It goes past that; most particular person apps use their very own system in terms of sharing hyperlinks, so for those who attempt to share a Fb submit, X submit, or Instagram story, you will get a distinct share menu every time. Google can be responsible, as none of its personal apps use the identical share sheet design both. Fortunately, some semblance of sanity is returning to the share sheet in Android 14; it has a unified fashion for starters, and if there’s an app that has customized actions — like screenshots in Chrome — it may be added to the default share sheet immediately.
This makes an enormous distinction in every day use, and truthfully, Google ought to have achieved this two years in the past. However, I am glad the share sheet is getting a constant menu now, and I am crossing my fingers that different manufacturers begin utilizing the identical design. What makes this replace completely different is that Google is bundling the share sheet into Mission Mainline, giving it the power to roll out new options and make any modifications with out having to attend till the subsequent Android launch — it may be achieved straight from the Play Retailer.
There’s a number of usability tweaks in different areas. Non-linear font scaling will get an replace, and now you can scale a font as much as 200% — in Android 13, you possibly can solely go as much as 130%. The most effective modifications in Android 13 was per-app language settings, which provided the power to alter the language of an app with out having to alter all the system language. In Android 14, you may set regional preferences, and this allows you to change the numbering system, begin of week, and climate items.
Though it took Google a very long time to roll out this characteristic, Android 14 integrates lossless audio codecs. So for those who join an IEM or wired headset to your cellphone, the Android system is ready to natively deal with lossless playback.
The predictive again gesture is usable (form of)
The predictive again gesture initially debuted in Android 13 beta, nevertheless it wasn’t accessible within the secure launch. And whereas it’s accessible in Android 14, it is not enabled out of the field, and you need to go into developer choices to toggle it on. And since Google would not mandate its personal, you are primarily restricted to Chrome and different Google providers the place you may really use the characteristic.
That mentioned, it is in Chrome the place you are sure to wish it probably the most, and it really works as marketed. The characteristic reveals a preview of the web page you will return to once you begin urgent the again gesture, so you may determine if you wish to return or keep on the present web page. Whereas the gesture is certainly useful and makes navigation much more seamless, it clearly has points — there have been a number of instances the place it would not set off — and there is the truth that you may’t use it extensively.
Essentially the most safe model of Android but
Google rolls out a set of safety features with each new Android launch, and that is no completely different in Android 14. Let’s begin with permission administration; Android 14 allows you to give partial entry to photographs and movies, so for those who’re posting to Instagram or one other social community, you needn’t give the app full entry to all of the photographs and movies in your system. If this sounds acquainted, it is as a result of iOS has the identical characteristic.
Whereas most different producers already allow you to use a 6-digit PIN, that is now being baked into Android — and now you can apply it to your Pixel. What I like is that you do not have to hit enter after keying within the PIN; I do know it is a small tweak, nevertheless it makes unlocking the cellphone with a PIN simply that little simpler. This is called Auto-confirm unlock, and you will want to make use of a 6-digit PIN for it to work; so for those who’re at present utilizing a 4-digit PIN in your Pixel, you will have to arrange a brand new one.
One other change is how PIN entry works: once you’re typing your PIN, you not get a preview of the digits you simply entered; as a substitute, you get animated symbols that present up on the display. This makes it just about unattainable for anybody to guess your PIN in the event that they’re shoulder browsing.
Android 14 can be getting information sharing updates, so once you give an app permission to your location, you now get a notification when that app is sharing the small print with any third events. Given what number of apps swap their insurance policies round third-party sharing, it is a worthwhile addition.
Well being Join debuted on the finish of 2022, and with Android 14, Google is transferring it into the settings web page and integrating it natively. The characteristic allows you to simply share health and well being metrics with third-party apps, and the entire information is securely encrypted on the system and would not go to a cloud service. Just like the share sheet, Well being Join is getting its personal Mission Mainline module, so Google can roll out well timed modifications and new options as wanted by way of the Play Retailer.
Lastly, Google is making modifications to sideloading; you may nonetheless sideload apps with out an excessive amount of of a problem, however Google now mandates an SDK degree of a minimum of 23, so something constructed for Android 6.0 Marshmallow and under is not eligible.
Now you can use your cellphone as a webcam
Android 14 brings a couple of modifications to the digicam, and a notable addition is the power to make use of your Android cellphone as a webcam. Google is making it as simple as potential to take action; simply join your cellphone by way of a USB cable to a Home windows machine, and within the USB menu, you now get a Webcam possibility. Selecting that launches a notification that allows you to configure the choices, and you’ll then use your cellphone in Home windows — it reveals up as Android Webcam.
Going this route allows you to use your cellphone’s entrance or rear cameras, and what’s significantly nice is that you should utilize the auxiliary lenses as effectively. The draw back is that the characteristic is not accessible extensively; I do not see it on my Pixel 8 or 8 Professional simply but, however I’ve it on the Pixel 7 Professional that is working the QPR1 beta. That principally means the characteristic is but to hit the Android 14 secure channel, however it’s more likely to be accessible within the coming weeks. For those who want it proper now, you should utilize the newest beta construct.
A cool new characteristic in Android 14 is the introduction of Extremely HDR; it is a new format that Google is rolling out, and whereas it utilizing the usual .jpg extension, it consists of HDR metadata with the picture. So once you view the picture on an HDR display, you routinely get richer colours with higher vibrancy.
And whereas this is not essentially associated to the digicam, Android 14 consists of automated framing once you’re making a video name. Samsung provided this characteristic on its Galaxy S and Galaxy Z this yr, and it makes a noticeable distinction. Fortunately, Google is now rolling it out as normal by itself gadgets.
Android 14 brings large modifications to accessibility
Telephones today haven’t got LED notification lights, so manufacturers have resorted to utilizing the display as a notification LED of kinds. One UI, ColorOS, and MIUI allow you to configure edge lighting in order that the perimeters of the display mild up for any incoming notifications, and Google is serving up its tackle this characteristic in Android 14.
It is referred to as Flash notifications, and you’ll allow both the digicam flash to go off everytime you get a notification — useful for those who place your cellphone face-down on a desk — or use the display. Now, in contrast to different manufacturers, all the display pulses with mild when utilizing this characteristic, and it is not refined within the least. You get to decide on between 12 colours, and there is a preview that reveals what a flash notification would appear like. Having used the characteristic for a couple of days, I undoubtedly favor what Samsung and different manufacturers do with edge lighting.
Magnifier in Android 14 is extra intuitive, and you’ve got the power to simply alter how a lot of the display you’d wish to amplify. And a key change is the power to have the magnifier enabled once you swap between apps. There is a nifty shortcut as effectively; simply use a two-finger swipe up gesture from the underside of the display to launch and shut the built-in magnifier.
Android 14: When can you employ it?
Android 14 is now on eligible Pixels (Pixel 4a and up), and it’ll begin rolling out to different gadgets over the approaching weeks. Fortunately, the wait should not be so long as earlier variations of Android, and most manufacturers do a good job of rolling out the replace to their newest telephones inside a couple of months — ideally, the perfect Android telephones ought to get the replace earlier than the top of the yr.
So for those who’re utilizing a current cellphone from Samsung, iQOO, Nothing, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, Vivo, or Xiaomi, you will not have to attend too lengthy to change to the newest model of Android.
Samsung’s One UI 6 beta program is already in full swing, as is OxygenOS 14. Xiaomi hasn’t shared many particulars round MIUI 15, and equally, it seems like ColorOS 14 will take a short while to get off the bottom.
With Android 14, Google is constructing on the Materials You basis it launched with Android 12. There aren’t many modifications to the visible aesthetic or notification pane, however with higher customization choices and rolling out Materials You styling to all components of the interface, Android 14 seems and feels cohesive.
Even when there aren’t many thrilling options this time round, Google is making much-needed fixes in areas that felt uncared for up to now — just like the share menu — and that in the end is extra helpful on a day-to-day foundation than a flashy new characteristic.
