Here’s the first look at the upcoming Android version.


Google announced the first Developer Preview of Android 14 last day, giving us a first look at what to expect from the upcoming version of Android. 

While we are not getting any change in UI with this Developer Preview, there are some key changes with Android with this new update. 

Android 14 Developer Preview 1 Is Out - Here's Everything You Need To Know!Pin

We also have the new logo for the latest Android version, which looks inspired by NASA logos. 

Let us talk about everything Android 14 Developer Preview 1!

What Is A Developer Preview? 

Ahead of the stable releases of new Android versions, Google releases various versions, the first of which is the Developer Preview version of Android. These versions are meant for developers to optimize and build their apps for the upcoming release.

This is not a beta version of Android; it is far from it. It is generally not as stable as beta builds and is not intended for end customers. So don’t expect it to run smoothly on your Pixels immediately if you choose to install it. 

Android 14: Top Features

This first Developer Preview of Android 14 brings a host of rather small changes with it. Let us take a look at them. 

Bigger Fonts With Non-Linear Scaling 

Android 14 Developer Preview 1 Is Out - Here's Everything You Need To Know!Pin

Android 14 will let you scale up the system font to 200%. It also brings non-linear scaling to ensure the bigger texts on the screen won’t get too large to become unreadable. 

Carrier Bloatware Detection

Your device might install carrier-specific apps in the background up on installing a new SIM. Android 14 will make it easier to find the apps installed in the background and uninstall them quickly. 

Battery Saver UI

The battery-saver UI has now been streamlined with all the features on a single page. You can switch between Basic and Extreme Battery Saver from the same pane. 

Screen On Time Is Back Under Battery Usage Section

With Android 12, the screen on time has changed to display the battery usage over the previous 24-hour period. With Android 14 Developer Preview 1, the old Screen On Time metric will let you see how long your battery has lasted since the last charge. It is now present in the Battery Usage section as well. 

App Cloning

App cloning is coming to Android natively. You can already do that on various OEMs such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, etc. Now the same feature has been spotted on the Android 14 Developer Preview. 

Warning For Old Apps

One way malware targets Android devices is by using only the APIs of older versions. Android 14 will warn you if an app targets API level 27 (Android 8.1 or lower) when installing the app. 

Under The Hood Changes

The changes we mentioned in the last section were all about visual and behavioural changes. There are many under-the-hood changes with Android 14, which is up for testing for developers. Let us talk about those. 

Streamlining Background Work

Android 14 optimizes how apps work together, improves system health and battery life, and provides a better user experience. These are aimed at developers and are available on the developer preview for the developers to try out their apps. 

  • Updates and additions to JobScheduler and Foreground Services. 
  • Optimized broadcasts. 
  • Exact alarms. 

Customization

Many underlying changes with customization are here:

  • Per-app language preferences for app developers. 
  • Grammatical inflection API, which allows devs to add support for languages that have grammatical gender. 

Privacy and Security 

These new privacy and security features have been added for devs. 

  • Runtime receivers. 
  • Safer implicit intents
  • Safer dynamic code loading. 
  • Credential manager and Passkeys support.

App Compatibility 

These are the changes coming with Android 14 regarding app compatibility:

  • OpenJDK 17 support
  • Easier testing and debugging of changes
  • Platform stability milestone

Android 14 Timeline & Release Date

Google also detailed the release timeline for Android 14 in the blog post announcing Android 14 DP1

Android 14 Developer Preview 1 Is Out - Here's Everything You Need To Know!Pin

The Developer Preview 2 is scheduled for March. Then the beta releases will start in April. The final release of Android 14 is scheduled for August or more. 

Abhijith S avatar

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