Made by Google 2023 is officially here, and with it, exciting product announcements. We’ve now gotten our eyes on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, the Pixel Watch 2, and two new colours for Pixel Buds Pro. But it’s not all about hardware: Google also officially introduced Android 14 to the world, and all the new features that come with it.
How Android 14 looks different
With Android 12 and 13, Google introduced a new level of customization for the look and feel of Android via a design language called Material You. Material You automatically adjusts all your app icons, UI elements, settings, and more to follow a specific colour scheme, often based on the colours of your wallpaper.
In Android 14, Google is taking this feature a step further by introducing an updated customization picker. For starters, you’re now able to set custom lock screen shortcuts, allowing quick access to your favorite apps and functions. There’s also more robust lock screen and home screen customization, offering curated templates for widgets, colours, fonts, and more.
Google is also introducing generative AI wallpaper in Android 14, employing AI-generated text-to-image diffusion models to make custom wallpapers based on your inputs. This AI wallpaper feature will be coming first to the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8, but should land on older devices in the future. If you prefer a simple look, there’s also a new monochromatic theme that minimizes the colours used through the OS.
All the new features in Android 14
Better photos. On the photography side, Android 14 supports HDR images with Ultra HDR. This HDR support should make your photos look better, with more vibrant colours, darker shadows, and brighter highlights.
Stronger security. For security, Google’s Health Connect is now built-into Android 14’s settings. This change means all your health data is now stored in one place and is securely encrypted on your phone. No one, not even Google, will be able to read or access your health data going forward, so you can pair your favourite health and fitness apps with your private data without concern.
Data transparency. Android 14 is generally more transparent about how apps use your data. Now, you’ll receive a notification when an app shares your location with third parties, which makes it easy to deny access right away. In addition, Android 14 will encourage you to switch from a four-digit PIN to a six-digit one. And once you enter your six-digit PIN correctly, you won’t have to tap “enter” to unlock your phone. (Thank goodness.)
Better accessibility features. Android 14 also improves its accessibility features. First is an improved magnifier that lets you pinch and zoom, and controls that prevent the magnifier from turning off when you switch apps. You can also change the magnifier size and font size with the new Quick Settings tiles. Speaking of font size, you can choose to adjust larger font sizes at a slow rate than smaller ones, which helps to stop text from getting larger than necessary.
Better integration with hearing aids. There’s also a dedicated hearing aid setup in the Accessibility settings of this update, a new way to route audio to different outputs, and a shortcut to access hearing aids controls. You’ll also be able to turn on “Flash notifications” from Accessibility and Notifications settings, rather than relying on audio alerts.
Other quality-of-life improvements. Other feature in Android 14 include one-tap access to the Google Home app as well as automatic framing in video calls. You can check out Google’s official Android 14 page here.
Which phones support Android 14?
Android 14 is rolling out now to supported Pixel devices, including the Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel 5, and Pixel 4a 5G. The new Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8 will run Android 14 out of the box.
Later this year, Android 14 will be available on devices from Samsung Galaxy, iQOO, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, vivo and Xiaomi.
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