Google has announced the release of the Android 14 Developer Preview. However, it is currently available exclusively to Pixel smartphones including the Pixel 7 series, Pixel 6 series, Pixel 6a, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a and Pixel 4a. The developer preview has brought a bunch of updates and features including better interface speed, power-draw optimizations, as well as security and privacy upgrades. It has also added bigger fonts with non-linear scaling for all apps. It has also optimized the usage of the battery by the apps in the background.
According to the details shared on Google’s Android Developer page, Android 14 Developer Preview images are available on a number of Pixel devices. These include Pixel 7 series, which includes the vanilla variant and Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 5 series, Pixel 5a and Pixel 4a. Users can get access to the Android 14 system image by either using the Android Flash tool or by manually installing it. The Android 14 Developer’s preview has also given a sneak peek into the upcoming features and improvements.
The Android 14 Developer Preview hints at bigger fonts in the new update with non-linear scaling up to 200 percent, which is currently 130 percent on Pixel devices. Developers can test this out by selecting Setting > Accessibility > Display size and text settings. The improved font scaling is also applicable to big screens and foldable devices. In another major change, now permissions will not be pre-granted to most newly-installed apps, instead, they will be denied by default.
The new operating system will also optimise the battery usage by the apps running in the background. This will prevent unwanted apps from using the phone’s battery. Moreover, the update will also let apps use less background power when downloading files. It will also include updated lists of restricted non-SDK interfaces.
Tipster Mishaal Rahman has also shared his inputs into the developments regarding Android 14. According to his tweets, Android 14 is also testing an app cloning feature allowing users to run two copies of the same app through two accounts.
