Google announces Android 14: Check top features, supported devices here

Android 14 update: Google today hosted its annual Made by Google 2023 event wherein the company launched its next-generation mobile operating system dubbed as Android 14. The newly announced mobile OS succeeds last year’s Android 13 OS and it brings a host of new features, such as improved personalisation features and more safety features to the supported smartphones.

“Android 14 is here and it’s packed with updates that help you customize your device experience, give you more control over your health and safety and improve accessibility,” Google wrote in a blog post.

What’s new in Android 14?

— Android 14 brings more personalisation options to supported Android smartphones. Google says that Android 14 gets an updated customisation picker, which will make it easier for users to switch between wallpapers and update what they want to see at a glance. Users can also set custom lock screen shortcuts, such as QR reader or the Google Home app, which in turn gives them a one-tap access to their most used controls directly from their Android lock screen.

— Android 14 will also enable users to choose from a set of new, curated lock screen templates for fonts, widgets, colors and formats. Google says that these options also use AI to adjust users’ screens based on their situation. “For example, if the weather is suddenly taking a turn for the worse, your lock screen weather widget will become more prominent,” the company added in the blog post.

— Android 14 will also get generative AI wallpapers that use AI-generated text-to-image diffusion models to help users create wallpapers. This feature will be first available in Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones.

— Android 14 gets support for HDR images with Ultra HDR. Google says that Ultra HDR will bring out vibrant colors, brighter highlights and darker shadows in images captured by users. It will also display high-definition photos without altering the original quality of the image.

— Android 14 gets built-in support for Health Connect platform, which will now act as a central repository to store all of users’ health data in one place. It will also give users more control over their health data. Google says all the health data collected in the Health Connect platform is securely encrypted on users’ phones, which ensures that Google or anyone else can’t access it or use it for any other purpose.

— In addition to this, Android 14 brings more transparency as to how users’ data is being used by app that request it. Google says that Android 14 gets new data sharing capabilities wherein when users are asked to grant apps permission to information such as their location, they will be notified when an app is sharing location data with third parties. Users will also be able to make a more informed decision on whether or not they want to grant access to third parties for their data.

— On the security front, Android 14 enhances PIN security by encouraging users to set a six-digit PIN. After typing in the correct six-digit or longer PIN, users will not need to hit enter anymore as their Android smartphone will unlock automatically.

— Google has also improved magnifier on Android 14. The updated magnifier gets the ability to pinch to zoom in and out from 100 percent. Users can also change the magnifier size in a new Magnifier Settings panel or customise how much of the screen they would like magnified.

— Android 14 also brings improved readability and the ability to quickly change the font size of the text on device with the font size Quick Settings tile.

— Additionally, Android 14 enables users to turn on “Flash notifications” from the Accessibility and Notifications settings and get visual light flashes when they have incoming notifications.

Android 14 availability

Google says that it is starting to roll out Android 14 to supported Pixel devices today and that it will be available on more devices from companies such as Samsung Galaxy, iQOO, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, vivo and Xiaomi later this year.