We are showcasing some of the best additions and features in Android 14, which, based on what we’ve seen so far, appears to be a little improvement over its predecessor. Go directly to Google’s developer site to learn more.
Protected PIN
Android 14 offers yet another security and usability upgrade for the little PIN. To make it more difficult for someone else to spy on your pins, you may now disable the animations that show up when you enter your PIN. You can even remove the OK button at the end and have it unlock when you enter the last number if your PIN is six digits or longer.
Notification Flashes
You may activate both screen and camera flashes for incoming alerts on Android 14. Although it hasn’t been integrated into the operating system itself, this has long been a feature of iPhones and other Android handsets (such Samsung models). You can select the colour your display will flash in and switch on either one or both of them. It can be useful for anyone who wants their phone to not buzz or make noise whenever a notification comes in, even if its primary purpose is to assist those who have hearing loss.
Larger Fonts and Smarter Scaling
On Google’s Pixel phones, the maximum font size you could change in Android 13 was 130 percent; however, in Android 14, this limit is lifted to 200 percent. The method uses nonlinear scaling to eliminate goofy layouts; this means that words that are already scaled up, such headlines, won’t get bigger, making the text easier to see for people with vision impairments.
Better Hearing Aid Support
For those who have hearing loss, there’s further good news: Android 14 will no longer mix hearing aids with other Bluetooth devices. You can select which noises should be played through the device’s speakers and which ones should go to your hearing aids on a newly created page only for them. Additionally, Android 14 will alert you with a pop-up message if you have been listening to loud music for an extended period of time, helping to minimise hearing damage.
Better Support for Large Screens
Google’s first announcement during the original developer preview was support for developers attempting to create applications that smoothly transition between screen sizes. Apps that function well on tablets, smartphones, and folding phones should become more commonplace as developers have access to additional tools and design guidance. This would be similar to what Apple has done to ensure a smooth transition for its app ecosystem between the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook.
More Customization
Although you’ve had the ability to personalise your home screen for a while, Android 14 offers more customization options for your lock screen. Support for Ultra HDR photos, a monochrome theme, a lock screen picker, and lock screen templates are all included. Additionally, you can make cartoon-style wallpapers using your favourite emoji, parallax effect wallpapers using your own photographs, and even generative AI graphics that are triggered by text.
Restricting Photo and Video Access
Android 14 introduces an option to choose which individual photographs and videos an app can access, which should lessen your discomfort with the all-or-nothing nature of giving an app access to your media. In iOS 14, Apple unveiled a function that is comparable.
Improved Battery Life
While there isn’t a standout feature here, Google has worked hard to make Android run more smoothly and consume less battery life. With a few further modifications and changes to the operating system’s handling of background processes, downloads, and uploads, Android users should be able to get a bit extra life out of their phone batteries. Additionally, it appears that the battery settings menu’s “screen time since last full charge” feature—which was eliminated in Android 12—has returned.
Enhanced Security
Android 14 prevents you from installing older apps from Android 5.1 and before because malware prefers to target older versions of Android in order to evade security improvements in current versions. A few additional security-enhancing changes have been made behind the scenes, but the most noteworthy is probably the enhanced support for passkey authentication, which allows biometric login for more apps rather than requiring passwords.