Google unveiled the Android 14 Developer Preview 2, which provides developers with an advance glimpse of the forthcoming significant Android update. This release encompasses various fresh enhancements and features, such as enhanced performance, additional privacy functionalities, and more. Here, we present a comprehensive overview of the Android 14 Developer Preview to keep you informed.
Android 14 introduces various enhancements and features to the operating system:
- Performance Improvements: Android 14 has undergone optimization by Google to enhance its speed and efficiency. This involves improvements to the runtime, memory management, and handling of background tasks.
- Enhanced Privacy Features: Addressing users’ growing privacy concerns, Android 14 offers new tools to safeguard personal information. Notably, users can now disable app access to their camera and microphone to prevent unauthorized surveillance.
- Privacy Indicators: Android 14 introduces privacy indicators in the status bar. These indicators display a small dot when an app is utilizing the camera or microphone, making users more aware of potential privacy breaches.
- Improved Notification System: Android 14 enhances the notification experience by introducing the ability to snooze notifications, allowing users to concentrate on tasks without constant disruptions. Additionally, new notification channels enable grouping notifications from the same app, making organization more efficient.
- Accessibility Enhancements: Android 14 brings new accessibility features, including enhanced text-to-speech capabilities for visually impaired users. Moreover, “TalkBack gestures” enable users with disabilities to perform common actions using simple gestures.
- Background Activity Launching: In Android 14, foreground apps gain more control over the launching of activities by apps they interact with. This reduces unexpected interruptions and enhances security by preventing background activities without the user’s knowledge.
- Improved App Store Experience: Android 14 introduces new PackageInstaller APIs to improve the end-user workflow. These APIs include requestUserPreapproval() to defer APK downloads until installation approval, setRequestUpdateOwnership() for easier app management, setDontKillApp() for installing optional app features while the app is running, and InstallConstraints API to ensure appropriate app updates.
The Android 14 Developer Preview offers developers an opportunity to test their apps and prepare for the official release, which is still a few months away.
