Observe: We’ll preserve updating this text as we function extra releases from Android 14’s improvement and beta phases.
Some time again, Google made Android 14 accessible to Pixel customers by means of the developer preview model of the OS, which gave customers and builders an thought of what to anticipate when Android 14 lastly arrives for extra units. As such, Google has lastly introduced the primary beta model of Android 14, which contains enhancements to efficiency, safety and privateness, consumer customization, in addition to higher compatibility with tablets and foldables.
The Beta additionally elements in suggestions constructed from the early developer previews, and seeks to regularly iron out any bugs and points with efficiency – let’s test it out!
Show Adaptability and a Smarter UI
As seen within the earlier dev preview construct, Android 14 is designed to be extra versatile in terms of bigger show sizes, together with tablets and foldables. Google has beforehand given builders sources to supply a greater expertise for app customers by way of design and improvement guides, which give app designers and devs a greater perspective of what to supply app customers when accessing the identical app by way of totally different display screen sizes.
Because of this Android 14 can have much less challenges in switching as much as swimsuit quite a lot of display screen sizes, particularly on condition that we’ve now seen a ton of recent tablets and foldables in the marketplace that generally include unconventional side ratios.
Google additionally goals for Android 14 to function a extra clever consumer interface, the likes of which depend on the underlying framework to get issues completed, and the system UI which permits customers to take management. As such, Beta 1 does include a handful of recent refinements. For instance, one new change is the again arrow, which has been modified a bit to be extra outstanding throughout app interplay with gestures, permitting for higher visibility – it even matches a tool’s theme or wallpaper. It’s a delicate change, however a a lot welcome one, nonetheless.
Beneath-the-hood Adjustments
For builders, Android 14 may even enable apps so as to add customized actions to system sharesheets that they invoke. Devs can select a customized ChooserAction utilizing ChooserAction.Builder and specify an inventory of their ChooserActions because the Intent.EXTRA_CHOOSER_CUSTOM_ACTIONS of the Intent created with Intent.createChooser.
With Android 14, devs can now question paths to search out out what’s inside them. Android’s Path API (which permits for the creation and rendering of vector graphics) now contains performance to interpolate between paths whose constructions match precisely, which permits for morphing results, and an AndroidX library offers backwards compatibility again to API 21.
Updates to Personalization and Privateness
Android 14 continues to take ahead steps for consumer customization – one continued improvement is particular person language preferences, which now permits for personalisation of the languages proven within the Android Settings per-app language record.
With Android Studio Giraffe Canary 7 and AGP 8.1.0-alpha07, devs can configure apps to help per-app language preferences mechanically. The Android Gradle plugin will generate a LocaleConfig file and provides a reference to it within the generated manifest file, so devs will now not must create or replace the file manually when language help adjustments.
With Beta 1, Android 14 addresses performance for customers with particular wants and entry. New adjustments will restrict visibility to disability-focused accessibility companies – the brand new accessibilityDataSensitive attribute lets apps restrict visibility of specified views strictly to accessibility companies that declare to assist customers with disabilities. Because of this accessibilityDataSensitive can shield knowledge like passwords, and forestall unintentional actions like money transfers and checkouts from being executed.
Concerning these apps and companies, Google’s Play Defend will guarantee customers that apps downloaded from the Play Retailer are truthful about these claims. This won’t have an effect on companies like TalkBack and different apps that assist customers with disabilities.
App Compatibility Testing
Devs who haven’t examined for app compatibility with Android 14 are urged to take action as quickly as doable, as early-adopter entry to the Beta implies that customers and different builders who’ve entry to the Beta can attempt apps and report points.
With that being mentioned, devs can check for compatibility, by putting in revealed apps on a tool or emulator with the Android 14 Beta and work by way of all the app’s flows, reviewing the conduct adjustments, and publishing updates after fixing points. You’ll be able to take a look at Android 14’s earlier improvement phases under.
Android 14 Developer Construct 2
One of many greatest highlights launched with Android 12L (and subsequently Android 13) had been the optimizations made to permit Android to work higher with “non-traditional” type elements similar to tablets and foldables. Google does present builders steerage for app high quality in large-screen conditions, and has likewise launched libraries for low latency stylus and movement prediction.
Google additionally presents builders with a big display screen gallery that can give devs a greater thought on the best way to create an immersive and fascinating consumer expertise on massive screens with differing layouts.
Constructing in the direction of Android 14’s push for improved privateness, the brand new construct additionally permits builders to make use of the Photograph Picker for apps that want entry to user-specific media. Ought to Photograph Picker not be accessible, Android 14 customers will grant apps entry to chose pictures and movies with the next decisions:
- Permit entry to all pictures: the complete library of all on-device pictures & movies is accessible
- Choose pictures: solely the consumer’s collection of pictures & movies will likely be quickly accessible through MediaStore
- Don’t enable: entry to all pictures and movies is denied
Android 14 additionally provides Credential Supervisor as a platform API. Developer Preview 2 options enhancements within the UI styling for the account selector, together with adjustments to the API primarily based on earlier suggestions.
This may make signing in simpler for customers with APIs that retrieve and retailer credentials with user-configured credential suppliers. Along with passwords, the API will enable apps to make use of passkeys, which can be utilized with each web sites and apps.
For Android 14, apps might want to both make the pending intent immutable or make the intent specific. As for background actions, Android locations restrictions on when apps can begin actions when the app is working within the background, so customers have much less interruptions on their display screen.
Android Developer Preview 2 additionally comes with optimizations to Android’s reminiscence administration with background duties. A number of seconds after an app goes into the cached state, background work is disallowed exterior of typical Android app lifecycle APIs.
As for notifications, notifications on Android 14 containing FLAG_ONGOING_EVENT will likely be consumer dismissible on unlocked handheld units. Notifications will keep non-dismissible when the system is locked, whereas notifications which are necessary to system and system performance will stay absolutely non-dismissible.
Android 14 options new PackageInstaller APIs that enable app shops to enhance their consumer expertise, permitting APK downloads to be deferred till after the set up has been authorised, enabling installers to let customers now that the identical will take cost of future updates, in addition to the set up of non-compulsory app options by way of cut up APKs whereas the app is in use.
Including to Android’s pre-existing customizability, regional preferences lets customers personalize temperature items, the primary day of the week, and numbering techniques, to call a number of. Builders will be capable of use new Android Settings menus for these preferences to supply customers with a discoverable and centralized location to alter app preferences.
Google provides that it’s anticipating to succeed in platform stability for Android 14 someday in June 2023, so builders can have a number of weeks earlier than the official launch to do their remaining testing. You’ll be able to take a look at our protection of the primary Android 14 Developer Preview right here.
Extra Android 14:
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