Google has officially announced that Android 14 will be announced on May 10, 2023, at the Google I/O event. The Android 14 DP2 has already been released, providing a glimpse of the new features expected to be included in the final version. Some of the highlights of the upcoming Android update are discussed below.

Custom Lockscreen Settings

Custom Lockscreen Settings, a feature popularized by Apple’s iOS 16 update, will be added to Android 14. Users will be able to select wallpaper colors, basic colors, themed icons, custom clock settings, and more. Some of these customizations were already possible using third-party apps, but Android 14 will now have built-in customization options.

Improved Note Keeping

Mishaal Rahman, a well-known Android expert, and member of XDA Developers has written about several new note-taking features that will be available in Android 14. Rahman tweeted that Android 14 will have permissions that allow assistive apps to take notes on behalf of users in other applications. In addition, there is permission that enables users to take screenshots inside of an application and continue editing them in the Notes app. Additionally, Android 14 will officially include a screenshot shortcut for all smartphones, just like Pixel devices. Users are able to easily edit screen content by grabbing it and opening it in the Notes app.

Cloned Apps

Android 14 will also feature an app cloning option, which will allow users to clone certain apps. This feature will be particularly useful for users who want to use multiple accounts on the same app, such as having separate accounts for work and personal use.

Enhanced Companion Device Sync

Android 14 will make companion device synchronization better. This indicates that your Android 14 smartphone will have significantly improved connectivity with an earbud or smartwatch. For seamless connectivity, we can anticipate better data transfer between devices.

Motion Predictor

Another intriguing feature that Rahman discovered is the Motion Predictor, which will be useful for gestures performed on input devices. These could be Wacom-style trackpads or assistive stylus drawing pads. Gestures can be used to predict future tasks by the feature.

Support for High-Contrast Text in Material U

The dynamic color engine or Monet’s support for high-contrast text is another interesting feature of Android 14. Particularly helpful for users with limited vision is the text’s high contrast. Notably, when the dynamic color engine was used, Material U had issues with text that were hard to read in high contrast. When the dynamic color engine is enabled, the high-contrast text will appear correctly in all apps running Android 14.

Improved Share Sheet

The share sheet that appears when you click the share button on any media or file on an Android device varies from brand to brand. Google is likely to standardize the share sheet and enhance the options displayed with Android 14. The DP2 has shown that the share sheet will be a separate app, so it will be the same for all custom UIs and apps. It will also make it easier to select and reselect media files, add and remove text previews, display scrollable image previews, and have an additional row of apps.

Enhanced PIN Privacy

The new “enhanced PIN privacy” setting that will be available in Android 14 will make it safer to enter your phone’s PIN in public. No more peering over your shoulder at your phone’s pin. The Enhanced Pin Privacy option, which can be found under the Screen Lock settings, will deactivate animations when entering the pin.

Notice Drove Streak

With Android 14, users can enable LED alerts for app notifications directly from the settings. This feature has already been incorporated by different Android cell phone makers, but Google had not included it in their operating system. However, this will change with Android.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Android 14 is expected to bring a host of new features and improvements to the operating system, ranging from custom lock screen settings to improved note-taking abilities and more. Google is set to announce the update at its Google I/O 2023 event on May 10th, with a public beta expected shortly after. The stable public release is likely to follow in the fall of 2023.