Android 14 story has just begun. Android 14 Developer Preview 1 (DP1) is here, and you can download it right now if you own an eligible Pixel phone. Right in line with previous releases like Android 13 and Android 12, Google announced the first developer preview of Android 14 for Pixel smartphones to help app creators target the new platform, and offers a glimpse at what we can expect from Google’s next mobile OS.
Google Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel 5, and Pixel 4a (5G) are compatible to install Android 14 DP1. The focus for this new version is on improvements meant for apps, while the other priorities are including accessibility, battery life and security. Google also says “Android 14 builds on the work done in Android 12L and 13 to support tablets and foldable form factors,” making it easier to optimize apps for various form factors with every Android release.
Google is trying to improve standby battery life with Android 14, which will be achieved using its internal broadcasting system. Developers are advised not to use exact alarms for their apps unless it’s a calendar or alarm clock, as this method of scheduling tasks is particularly heavy on the battery.
On the accessibility front, you will be able to scale fonts to a much larger size up to 200 percent (versus the old limit of 130 percent on Pixel phones today), and smarter scaling also makes text more readable. A new linear font scaling is automatically added which should help with any layout issues. A Grammatical Inflection API will let developers “more easily add support for users who speak languages which have grammatical gender,” making it easier for developers to set preferred languages for apps.
Android 14 DP1 also has improvements that can make the most of your battery and screen. You will be seeing tighter controls on alarms, foreground tasks and internal broadcasts – which can reduce power consumption.
The biggest change to Android 14’s security architecture is it can block users from sideloading very old apps that target SDK version 22/Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) or lower. Google says some malware is written for older versions to avoid a permissions system introduced to SDK version 23 with Android 6 in 2015. The older apps won’t be affected that are already installed when you upgrade to the Android 14 OS, and you can also use a new ADB command line instructions to force installations by bypassing the restrictions.
Android 14 includes more features such as runtime receivers, safer implicit intents, safer dynamic code loading, Credential Manager and Passkeys support, app compatibility, and more for improved privacy and security.
Android 14 is “Streamlining background work“:
- “Because the invocation of exact alarms can significantly affect the device’s resources, such as battery life, in Android 14, newly installed apps targeting Android 13+ (SDK 33+) that are not clocks or calendars must request the user to grant them the SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM special permission before setting exact alarms.”
- “In Android 14, we are making changes to existing Android APIs (Foreground Services and JobScheduler) including adding new functionality for user-initiated data transfers, along with an updated requirement to declare foreground service types. The user-initiated data transfer job will make managing user initiated downloads and uploads easier, particularly when they require constraints such as downloading on Wi-Fi only.”
Google has also introduced OpenJDK 17 support (300 classes) to “fully enable Java 17 language features in upcoming developer previews.”
In case you were wondering the internal code : Android 14 s indeed “Upside Down Cake.” To recall, Androd 13, and Android 12 were known as Tiramisu, and Snow Cone, respectively.
Google also released a timeline that revealing its plans ahead of the final stable release in Q3. As you can see in the image, there will be another developer preview in March. Google is then switching to the beta program in April. In June, Android 14 is reaching platform stability with the fourth beta. A fifth beta will arrive in July, and sometime after that, the final release looks set for August or September, ahead of the Google Pixel 8 release.
- February – Developer Preview 1: Early baseline build focused on developer feedback, with new features, APIs, and behavior changes.
- March – Developer Preview 2: Incremental update with additional features, APIs, and behavior changes.
- April – Beta 1: Initial beta-quality release, over-the-air update to early adopters who enroll in Android Beta.
- May – Beta 2: Incremental Beta-quality release
- June.- Beta 3: First Platform Stability milestone, including final APIs and behaviors. Play publishing also opens.
- July – Beta 4: Near-final builds for final testing.
- July – Beta 5: Near-final builds for final testing.
- August/September – Android 14 release to AOSP and ecosystem.
We released the first Developer Preview of #Android14!
— Android Developers (@AndroidDev) February 8, 2023
It includes changes to streamline background work, along with enhancements to privacy, personalization, security, and more.
Try out the new features and APIs, test your apps, and give us feedback → https://t.co/wC144Pwl26 pic.twitter.com/JLEfs2vfVh
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Supported Google Pixel phones: in order to run Android 14 DP1, users/developers are required to own a supported Pixel phone. Google is providing the preview for the Google Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel 5, and Pixel 4a (5G) phones.
Android 14 DP1 (UPP1.230113.009) also brings the February 2023 security patch. If you are brave enough and want to get into it, you’ll need to flash the appropriate factory image file based on your Pixel phone. You can also opt to use a generic 64-bit image in an emulator. Hit the appropriate link below.
- Pixel 7 Pro: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 7: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 6a: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 6 Pro: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 6: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 5a: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 5: Factory Image — OTA
- Pixel 4a (5G): Factory Image — OTA
Source: Android Developers Blog