Android 14 review: Steady refinement

Two years after the introduction of the Material You design language, Google is constant to roll out refinements and tweak the general aesthetic. That was an enormous a part of Android 13, and Android 14 follows in the same vein. That mentioned, there is a greater concentrate on customization this yr, and Google has lavished consideration in areas which have been uncared for in current Android releases. There are a number of adjustments to accessibility options, the Android share sheet is lastly getting an overhaul that makes it extra constant throughout units, and the predictive again gesture is a helpful addition that adjustments the way you navigate.All in all, Android 14 is an incremental replace, however that is not a nasty factor. There are nonetheless loads of tweaks that find yourself making an actual distinction in how you employ your telephone, and finally, that is what you are want in a brand new Android launch. I used Android 14 for a number of months on a Pixel 7, beginning out with the primary public beta and putting in the steady construct as quickly because it turned obtainable. The steady Android 14 construct is proscribed to pick Pixels in the mean time, however it is going to be rolling out to third-party producers within the coming weeks. So let’s check out every thing that is new, and when you can begin utilizing Android 14 in your telephone.Android 14 takes customization to a brand new degree(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)Google is lavishing loads of consideration to the lock display in Android 14, and that features a lot better customizability. You now get to decide on between eight clock types, and you need to use the Material You colour scheme right here or go together with customized colours — there is a alternative of 10 obtainable. I just like the clock faces fairly a bit; they go collectively very well with the Material You widgets, and also you get loads of quirky types.(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)The clock adjustments measurement in response to lock display content material, so you probably have loads of unread notifications, it shrinks in width so it does not dominate consideration. The clock faces look good in always-on mode as effectively, and whereas Google is not making any adjustments to how AOD works on its units proper now — which will are available in Android 15 — there’s quite a bit to love with lock display customization. Oh, and you’ll customise the lock display with out having to go to the house display; simply lengthy press when you’re nonetheless on the lock display, and also you get a button on the backside to customise the web page.(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)Another huge change on this space is the addition of customizable shortcuts (lastly!); you possibly can add two shortcuts to the underside of the lock display, and these can be utilized to launch the digital camera, pull up the QR code reader, flashlight, allow DND, launch video mode, and so forth. I’m nonetheless a little bit irritated that there is no option to floor sensible dwelling controls with a protracted press of the ability button — that was a characteristic I used extensively till Android 12 — however with a Home shortcut, there’s the power to manage sensible lights and so forth with out having to go to the house display.(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)A very cool characteristic is the power to create customized wallpapers. Emoji workshop — a characteristic that debuted earlier this yr — permits you to design enjoyable emoji patterns and use these as your telephone’s background, and there is loads of potential to create enjoyable designs. What I like extra is the AI wallpaper characteristic; it makes use of a set of textual content prompts to provide you with differentiated backgrounds, and the impact is putting.(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)The characteristic makes use of text-to-image diffusion fashions and makes use of generative AI to create the backgrounds, and when you’re restricted to a set of preset prompts, there’s sufficient selection to provide you with loads of distinctive designs. There’s no scarcity of AI-based text-to-image mills in the mean time — I’m a fan of Stable Diffusion — however having this characteristic simply accessible in your telephone makes all of the distinction, and permits a wider viewers to strive it out.Of course, it stays to be seen if different manufacturers will make the most of these adjustments in their very own skins. Samsung has its personal tackle lock display customization that was rolled out final yr in One UI 5, and it does not seem like ColorOS 14 will decide up both characteristic.There are numerous smaller adjustments as effectively; the clipboard overlay that reveals up if you copy textual content is now minimized by default, so it does not are available in the way in which of utilizing the keyboard. If it is advisable to make any adjustments, you possibly can simply faucet the overlay and pull up the textual content window. The again button has a brand new design the place it is enclosed in a circle, and it makes use of the identical Material You accent colours as the remainder of the interface.Android’s share menu is getting a constant design(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)Google rolled out loads of usability adjustments in Android 14, however the one which I’d like to speak about is the share sheet redesign. Android’s share sheet — the menu you get if you hit the share button in a service — has had its share of points over time; it was gradual and buggy in earlier variations of Android, and whereas Google overhauled it in Android 10, most producers had their very own implementation by that time.That’s why you do not discover a constant design when switching between completely different telephones. For occasion, Samsung tends to want a horizontally-scrolling app checklist (I do not know why the model hates vertical scrolling), and it is not as straightforward to make use of because the default Android normal. Similarly, ColorOS 13 does not present contacts if you attempt to share a photograph or doc, and MIUI has too many particulars in its share sheet, making it tougher to make use of.(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)It goes past that; most particular person apps use their very own system relating to sharing hyperlinks, so when you attempt to share a Facebook submit, X submit, or Instagram story, you may get a distinct share menu every time. Google can also be guilty, as none of its personal apps use the identical share sheet design both. Thankfully, some semblance of sanity is returning to the share sheet in Android 14; it has a unified fashion for starters, and if there’s an app that has customized actions — like screenshots in Chrome — it may be added to the default share sheet immediately.(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)This makes an enormous distinction in every day use, and truthfully, Google ought to have accomplished this two years in the past. Nevertheless, I’m glad the share sheet is getting a constant menu now, and I’m crossing my fingers that different manufacturers begin utilizing the identical design. What makes this replace completely different is that Google is bundling the share sheet into Project Mainline, giving it the power to roll out new options and make any adjustments with out having to attend till the following Android launch — it may be accomplished straight from the Play Store.(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)There’s a number of usability tweaks in different areas. Non-linear font scaling will get an replace, and now you can scale a font as much as 200% — in Android 13, you could possibly solely go as much as 130%. One of one of the best adjustments in Android 13 was per-app language settings, which supplied the power to vary the language of an app with out having to vary all the system language. In Android 14, you possibly can set regional preferences, and this allows you to change the numbering system, begin of week, and climate items.Although it took Google a very long time to roll out this characteristic, Android 14 integrates lossless audio codecs. So when you join an IEM or wired headset to your telephone, the Android system is ready to natively deal with lossless playback.The predictive again gesture is usable (form of)(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)The predictive again gesture initially debuted in Android 13 beta, nevertheless it wasn’t obtainable within the steady launch. And whereas it’s obtainable in Android 14, it isn’t enabled out of the field, and it’s a must to go into developer choices to toggle it on. And as a result of Google does not mandate its personal, you are primarily restricted to Chrome and different Google providers the place you possibly can really use the characteristic.That mentioned, it is in Chrome the place you are certain to wish it essentially the most, and it really works as marketed. The characteristic reveals a preview of the web page you may return to if you begin urgent the again gesture, so you possibly can resolve if you wish to return or keep on the present web page. While the gesture is certainly helpful and makes navigation much more seamless, it clearly has points — there have been a number of occasions the place it would not set off — and there is the truth that you possibly can’t use it extensively.The most safe model of Android but(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)Google rolls out a set of security measures with each new Android launch, and that is no completely different in Android 14. Let’s begin with permission administration; Android 14 permits you to give partial entry to photographs and movies, so when you’re posting to Instagram or one other social community, you needn’t give the app full entry to all of the photographs and movies in your machine. If this sounds acquainted, it is as a result of iOS has the identical characteristic.While most different producers already allow you to use a 6-digit PIN, that is now being baked into Android — and now you can apply it to your Pixel. What I like is that you do not have to hit enter after keying within the PIN; I do know it is a small tweak, nevertheless it makes unlocking the telephone with a PIN simply that little simpler. This is named Auto-confirm unlock, and you may want to make use of a 6-digit PIN for it to work; so when you’re presently utilizing a 4-digit PIN in your Pixel, you may must arrange a brand new one.Another change is how PIN entry works: if you’re typing your PIN, you not get a preview of the digits you simply entered; as a substitute, you get animated symbols that present up on the display. This makes it nearly inconceivable for anybody to guess your PIN in the event that they’re shoulder browsing.Android 14 can also be getting knowledge sharing updates, so if you give an app permission to your location, you now get a notification when that app is sharing the small print with any third events. Given what number of apps change their insurance policies round third-party sharing, this can be a precious addition.(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)Health Connect debuted on the finish of 2022, and with Android 14, Google is shifting it into the settings web page and integrating it natively. The characteristic permits you to simply share health and well being metrics with third-party apps, and the entire knowledge is securely encrypted on the machine and does not go to a cloud service. Like the share sheet, Health Connect is getting its personal Project Mainline module, so Google can roll out well timed adjustments and new options as wanted through the Play Store.Finally, Google is making adjustments to sideloading; you possibly can nonetheless sideload apps with out an excessive amount of of a problem, however Google now mandates an SDK degree of not less than 23, so something constructed for Android 6.0 Marshmallow and under is not eligible.You can now use your telephone as a webcam(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)Android 14 brings a number of adjustments to the digital camera, and a notable addition is the power to make use of your Android telephone as a webcam. Google is making it as simple as doable to take action; simply join your telephone through a USB cable to a Windows machine, and within the USB menu, you now get a Webcam choice. Choosing that launches a notification that allows you to configure the choices, and you’ll then use your telephone in Windows — it reveals up as Android Webcam.Going this route permits you to use your telephone’s entrance or rear cameras, and what’s significantly nice is that you need to use the auxiliary lenses as effectively. The draw back is that the characteristic is not obtainable extensively; I do not see it on my Pixel 8 or 8 Pro simply but, however I’ve it on the Pixel 7 Pro that is working the QPR1 beta. That mainly means the characteristic is but to hit the Android 14 steady channel, however it’s prone to be obtainable within the coming weeks. If you want it proper now, you need to use the most recent beta construct.A cool new characteristic in Android 14 is the introduction of Ultra HDR; it is a new format that Google is rolling out, and whereas it utilizing the usual .jpg extension, it consists of HDR metadata with the picture. So if you view the picture on an HDR display, you mechanically get richer colours with higher vibrancy.And whereas this is not essentially associated to the digital camera, Android 14 consists of computerized framing if you’re making a video name. Samsung supplied this characteristic on its Galaxy S and Galaxy Z this yr, and it makes a noticeable distinction. Thankfully, Google is now rolling it out as normal by itself units.Android 14 brings huge adjustments to accessibility(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)Phones nowadays haven’t got LED notification lights, so manufacturers have resorted to utilizing the display as a notification LED of types. One UI, ColorOS, and MIUI allow you to configure edge lighting in order that the sides of the display gentle up for any incoming notifications, and Google is serving up its tackle this characteristic in Android 14.(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)It’s known as Flash notifications, and you’ll allow both the digital camera flash to go off everytime you get a notification — helpful when you place your telephone face-down on a desk — or use the display. Now, not like different manufacturers, all the display pulses with gentle when utilizing this characteristic, and it isn’t delicate within the least. You get to decide on between 12 colours, and there is a preview that reveals what a flash notification would seem like. Having used the characteristic for a number of days, I positively want what Samsung and different manufacturers do with edge lighting.(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)Magnifier in Android 14 is extra intuitive, and you’ve got the power to simply alter how a lot of the display you’d wish to amplify. And a key change is the power to have the magnifier enabled if you change between apps. There’s a nifty shortcut as effectively; simply use a two-finger swipe up gesture from the underside of the display to launch and shut the built-in magnifier.Android 14: When can you employ it?(Image credit score: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central)Android 14 is now on eligible Pixels (Pixel 4a and up), and it’ll begin rolling out to different units over the approaching weeks. Thankfully, the wait should not be so long as earlier variations of Android, and most manufacturers do an honest job of rolling out the replace to their newest telephones inside a number of months — ideally, one of the best Android telephones ought to get the replace earlier than the tip of the yr. So when you’re utilizing a current telephone from Samsung, iQOO, Nothing, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, Vivo, or Xiaomi, you will not have to attend too lengthy to change to the most recent model of Android.Samsung’s One UI 6 beta program is already in full swing, as is OxygenOS 14. Xiaomi hasn’t shared many particulars round MIUI 15, and equally, it seems to be like ColorOS 14 will take a short while to get off the bottom. With Android 14, Google is constructing on the Material You basis it launched with Android 12. There aren’t many adjustments to the visible aesthetic or notification pane, however with higher customization choices and rolling out Material You styling to all elements of the interface, Android 14 seems to be and feels cohesive.Even if there aren’t many thrilling options this time round, Google is making much-needed fixes in areas that felt uncared for previously — just like the share menu — and that finally is extra helpful on a day-to-day foundation than a flashy new characteristic.