Google released its first Android 14 developer preview for Pixel devices on 8 February 2023. Developer Preview 1 will let users get a feel for what the upcoming operating system is like. On the other hand, the Android 13 QPR2 beta is also live and running on Pixel devices.
Android 13 Developer Preview 1:
The Search tech manufacturer released the first developer preview version of Android 14, and developers can start downloading and installing it on their Pixel smartphones for testing to collect feedback. This new preview comes with some major improvements and features that will help developers to build better apps and experiences for their end users.
Moving on, this updated preview is the start of Android 14, and the company will have a lot more to share through the release cycle until the final public release, which is planned for the end of the year. There’s a lot more information about the preview on the Android 14 Developer site, but here’s a look at what’s new with the first Android 14 Developer Preview.
Top Five Android 14 features:
The internal codename of Android 14 is UpsideDownCake. Since it has only been released in developer preview form, it includes some of the UI design changes, along with enhancements to performance, privacy, security, and user customization that Google plans to bring with its stable version. Let’s check out the Android 14 features.
Working across devices and form factors:
The new Android 14 builds on the work done in Android 12L and 13 to support tablet and foldable form factors. It also comes with a series of features, such as window size classes, sliding pane layout, activity embedding, a box with constraints, and much more, which will help developers to build apps optimized for different screen sizes.
Streamlining background work:
With Android 14, Google continues to optimize how apps work together, improve system health and battery life, and enhance the end-user experience. It will also bring changes to the existing Android API, including adding new functionality for user-initiated data transfers, as well as an updated requirement to declare foreground service types and more. Also, it’s more complicated than necessary to perform some background tasks like downloading large files when WiFi is available.
Customization:
With Android 14, the company is working on Bigger fonts with non-linear scaling, allowing users to scale up their font to 200%. Moreover, it also brings enhanced Per-app language preferences options to customize the set of languages displayed in the per-app language list in Android Settings. In addition, it works on the Grammatical Transition API, so you can more easily add support for users who speak a language with grammatical gender.
Privacy and Security:
Android 14’s privacy and security settings restrict users from easily sideloading apps on their smartphones that target Android SDK level 22 or lower. In addition, new Developer Preview apps that use dynamic code loading will need to ensure that loaded files are made read-only to avoid downloading executable files that can be manipulated unexpectedly.
App Compatibility:
This new preview only includes access to 300 OpenJDK 17 classes, and the company works to “fully enable Java 17 language features in upcoming developer previews”. In addition, it allows for easier testing and debugging of changes. For more information, click here…
Android 13 Developer Preview 1: Download link –
The Android 14 developer preview is officially available for the Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel 5, Pixel 4a 5G, and Pixel 4a. If you want to install the new developer preview, you can download it manually and flash/sideload.
- Pixel 7 Pro: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 7: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 6a: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 6 Pro: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 6: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 5a: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 5: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 4a (5G): Factory Image — OTA
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