Best 5 new Android 14 features: All you need to know

Android 14 Developer Preview 1 is out and it gives us a first look at Android 14 and what to expect from the next Android version. The list of new Android 14 features includes optimisations for big-screen devices, more battery efficiency, improved accessibility settings, increased security and new UI changes. Here are they:

5 new features you get with the Android 14 update

1. Android 14 could be optimized for big-screen devices like foldables, tablets, and Chromebooks. Google could give developers guidelines for large-screen app quality, resizable and reconfigurable app layouts, remappable touchpad gestures, and modifier keys (like ctrl, alt, and caps lock).

2. There could be new Android 14 UI changes like in-app back gesture animations, a quick toggle to disable Fast Pair, and top-menu visibility for Allow guest to use phone feature within the Multiple users' settings screen.

3. You could also experience improved accessibility settings on Android 14 such as the option to scale font up to 200% (while ensuring already large text doesn't appear too large and cause layout issues), more granular controls for developers to choose per-app language options and other settings like units and numbers for different regions.  

4. Google could restrict sideloading of older apps (with an SDK version below 23) on Android 14 as a step towards increased security.

5. Android 14 could also clamp down on the amount of power allocated to background activities (thus reducing battery consumption), and also give you the ability to delete unnecessary bloatware in the background that comes preinstalled with the device. 

Wild to think about user experiences for phones that can connect to satellites. When we launched G1 in '08 it was a stretch to get 3G + Wifi working. Now we're designing for satellites. Cool! Excited to support our partners in enabling all of this in the next version of Android!

— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) September 1, 2022

The other important Android 14 features that we may get to see include support for Satellite connectivity, a built-in Health Connect app for one-stop control centre for all health and fitness-related apps and services, dual apps by cloning

As far as on which phones you can test this first Android 14 Developer Preview, here’s the list:

Android 14 phones 

1. Pixel 7 Pro

2. Pixel 7

3. Pixel 6 Pro

4. Pixel 6

5. Pixel 6a

6. Pixel 5

7. Pixel 5a 5G

8. Pixel 4a 5G

Android 14 release timeline

The first developer preview of Android 14 came out on February 8, 2023. The first beta is scheduled to arrive in April. Google aims for Android 14 to reach platform stability in June 2023. This will be followed by Android 14 beta 4 and finally the stable Android 14 release sometime in August or September.

Last, but not least, the Android 14’s internal codename is Upside Down Cake. So, going with tradition, that is the dessert name starting with the alphabet U.

Follow Us

G. S. Vasan

Vasan is a word weaver and tech junkie who is currently geeking out as a news writer at Digit. View Full Profile