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The November update for Google Pixel phones is arriving now — and it should squash an unpleasant bug for people with multiple user profiles. Google’s November update should be coming very soon to Pixel phones, providing some relief for a critical bug affecting people with multiple user profiles on their devices. The update — spotted by 9to5Google — contains a fix for an issue “occasionally causing devices with multiple users enabled to show out of space or be in a reboot loop,” which was affecting Pixel 6 phones and later running Android 14. The update will start arriving on Pixel phones beginning today, with the rollout continuing through the next week. This particular bug was a nasty one. In some cases, people were unable to access their media storage, while others were entirely shut out of their phones in a boot cycle that required a factory device reset. For people with the former problem, it seems that this update should restore access to the device’s media. The news is mixed for people with a phone stuck in a reboot cycle. An update last week mentioned that the fix Google was working on “may not enable data to be recovered for devices that are repeatedly rebooting.” You’ll be able to use your phone again, but hopefully you backed up your data! The bug affected Pixel phones with multiple user profiles, which Google says includes child users, guests, and restricted profiles. It did not affect people running multiple Google accounts as the primary user on a device — which is good because my Pixel 8 review units are both logged into my work and personal Gmail accounts. As such, it doesn’t seem that the problem was widespread, but it was a real pain in the buns for those affected. As of last week, Google advised anyone with a Pixel phone running Android 14 not to create or log into another user profile. With today’s update, that’s probably safe to do now — just, you know, back up your data before you do. Just in case. Source

With Android 14 Beta 5, Google polishes the finer details as it inches toward the official launch date. Beta 5 squashed 29 bugs, 6 of which are for Pixel devices. The previous Android 14 Beta 4 update packed 34 fixes, 9 targeted for Pixels. This update patches the battery drainage during video playback and background Wi-Fi scanning. The build number for Beta 5 is UPB5.230623.003, and Google Play Services is 23.18.18. The complete list of fixes is as follows: Fixed an issue where after unlocking a device using a PIN, TalkBack provides incorrect audio. Fixed an issue where Wi-Fi scanning was consuming too much battery. Fixed an issue where some pictures would glitch with extra shadow blocks. Fixed an issue where in some cases, the fingerprint sensor icon wouldn't appear as expected. Fixed an issue where voice-over Wi-Fi wasn't enabled by default. Fixed an issue on Pixel Fold devices where the device loses antenna ranging session information and cannot recover it. Fixed an issue where an extraneous white bar would appear in some apps. Fixed a background colour issue with the UI used to add a shortcut to the home screen. Fixed a launcher issue that was causing frequent crashes and other quality issues. Fixed an issue on Pixel tablets where user interaction during the transition from screen saver to low-light clock causes a SysUI crash. Fixed a Pixel Fold issue where tapping would fail to wake the device. Fixed a Pixel Fold issue where the system buttons would have inconsistent positions after folding and unfolding. Fixed an issue causing SysUI crashes when removing an app pair in landscape. Fixed an issue the launcher doesn't fully render after setup. Fixed an issue where the system displayed an incorrect mobile connection type. Fixed an issue where navigating back to exit an app leads to users no longer being able to open the app. Fixed an issue where wallpaper previews were sometimes blank. Fixed an issue where the system theme changes from yellow to pink after rebooting. Fixed an overscroll issue with ScrollView. Fixed an issue where certain colour palettes were difficult to see when the lock screen was activated. Fixed an issue where users couldn't enable battery sharing if a work profile existed on the device. Fixed an issue where a tablet screen inappropriately turned off when docked. Fixed an issue where the device policy manager was preventing notifications from appearing. Fixed an issue where group notifications couldn't be expanded. Fixed an issue where the lockscreen didn't correctly display the clock. Fixed various camera issues that were causing crashes and reductions in quality. Fixed an issue with power consumption during video playback. Fixed a Weather clock rendering issue. Fixed an issue where the lock screen customization preview didn't match the end result. Fixed an issue that was causing the wallpaper selection screen to crash. Fixed an issue where Pixel devices weren't connecting with some routers. Fixed a toast search result issue where the colour was too similar with the background colour. Fixed an issue where tapping a notification before using facial unlock does not open the notification. Fixed an issue on Pixel Fold where two clocks were displayed at the same time when in widescreen. Fixed an issue where widgets would overlap and stack incorrectly. Fixed an issue where closing the PiP window doesn't stop YouTube playback. Fixed an issue with switching call audio sources. Fixed an issue where after unlocking a device, only the background appears. Fixed an issue with dragging folders to remove them. Some behavior changes and new features in Android 14 existed for a long time in iOS. It will now allow users to grant partial access to their gallery just like iOS, with three options in the permissions pop-up: Select photos and videos: New in Android 14. The user selects the specific photos and videos that they want to make available to your app. Allow all: The user grants full-library access to all photos and videos on the device. Don't allow: The user denies all access. Another change to the Android system will put all memory booster apps out of business. Apps can now close only their own background processes, meaning memory booster apps won't be able to close other apps in one press of a button. Android will manage memory automatically and close processes when deemed necessary. According to the Android Developers blog post, If your app kills other apps unnecessarily, it can reduce system performance and increase battery consumption by requiring full restarts of those apps later, which takes significantly more resources than resuming an existing cached app. A complete list of behavioral changes can be found here. Android 14 Beta 5 is supported on Pixel 4a onwards. If you're a new beta tester, back up your data before flashing. The download files are available on the Android website here. Source

Google has announced new cellular security features for its upcoming Android 14, expected later this month, that aim to protect business data and communications. Android 14 will allow consumers and enterprises to turn off support for 2G on their devices or a managed device fleet and disable support for null-cipher (unencrypted) cellular connectivity at the modem level. "Android is the first mobile operating system to introduce advanced cellular security mitigations for both consumers and enterprises," reads Google's announcement "Android 14 introduces support for IT administrators to disable 2G support in their managed device fleet [and] also introduces a feature that disables support for null-ciphered cellular connectivity." Enterprise Stingray protection Google's announcement highlights the risks of false base stations and "Stingray" attacks that can intercept users' data, voice, and SMS by eavesdropping on network traffic. Stingrays are cell-site simulators that mimic cell towers to trick in-range devices to connect to them. This allows for intercepting sensitive personal data such as call metadata, SMS and voice call content, data usage and browsing history, and device IMSI. Stingray attacks have been largely mitigated in 4G. However, since downgrading connections to 2G remains possible, rogue cell stations can still perform these powerful man-in-the-middle attacks. Google first offered the option to turn off 2G connectivity on Android 12 by going through 'Settings → Network & Internet → SIMs → Allow 2G'. In Android 13, that option is to be found on 'Settings → Network & Internet → SIMs → [select SIM] → Allow 2G.' 2G connectivity toggle in Android 13Source: BleepingComputer Starting in Android 14, those managing device fleets, such as government agencies, enterprise entities, or other organizations, can restrict 2G connectivity downgrades on all devices under their control. This option is added on top of over 200 controls available in Android Enterprise, including the ability to disable WiFi, Bluetooth, and data signaling over USB. Stingray attacks have become more common over the past couple of years, with law enforcement and surveillance firms utilizing them to spy on cell phones, so this feature comes as a welcome addition to enterprise security. Blocking unencrypted networks While all IP-based user traffic on Android is end-to-end encrypted, ensuring that any interceptions won't result in data breaches, Google warns that certain communication types, such as circuit-switched voice calls and SMS messages, can still be exposed on cellular networks. The exposed data is typically protected by the cellular link layer cipher, which the users have no control or visibility over, so its strength and reliability are doubtful. Moreover, recent reports have shown that null ciphers (no encryption) are not uncommon in commercial networks, exposing the mentioned data in cleartext and easily readable form to those who can intercept it. Network operators using null-cipher (GEA0)Source: umlaut.com To mitigate this risk, Android 14 introduces a feature that allows users to turn off support for null-cipher connections at the modem level for devices that adopt the latest radio hardware abstraction layer (HAL). Like in the 2G disabling feature, emergency calls can still downgrade to null-cipher connections to avoid jeopardizing users' safety. Source

Android 14 is the latest version of the mobile operating system developed by Google. It was announced on February 8 with SDK 34 and an internal codename Upside Down Cake, following the alphabetical dessert naming custom. The roadmap posted showed the timeline of Developer Previews, Beta Releases, and Platform Stability releases before the final launch, some time in the fourth quarter of 2023. As we know now, after the debacle of Google postponing the Android 14 launch event, which was supposed to be held on September 5th, it will now release Android 14 on October 4th during the Pixel reveal event. Last week, Google published the final patch for its beta program, Android 14 Beta 5.3, mainly focusing on bugs in the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablets. In the forum post, it writes preparations for Android 14 December Quarterly Platform Release (QPR1) is on its way. Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1 will be launched to the public on September 18th and will include the latest improvements and bug fixes. Registered beta testers now have two paths to choose from; If you want to continue in the beta program, you will automatically receive the Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1 as usual. If you want to exit the beta program and receive the final stable public release, you must perform the following steps to avoid loss of data: Opt out of the program before September 18th, ignore/don’t apply the downgrade OTA update, and wait for the final public stable release of Android 14 (UP1A) coming soon. The OTA message will have ‘Downgrade’ in the description. Opting out will not cause a data wipe as long as you don’t apply the downgrade OTA update. Note: If you want to immediately return to the latest public version (Android 13), you can install the downgrade OTA update which will wipe the data on your device per usual program guidelines. If you opt out after September 18th and your device has already been offered the Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1 update, don’t install the update. Instead, first opt out of the program, ignore/don’t apply the downgrade OTA update, and wait for the official Android 14 public release. Note: If you opt-out of the program after installing the QPR1 Beta 1 update, all user data on the device will get wiped per usual program guidelines. The next opportunity to exit the Beta Program without a data wipe will be towards the end of the Android 14 QPR1 Beta cycle in December 2023. You can opt out of the beta program at this link. Since Android 14 will be launched in less than a month, you can expect QPR1 Beta 1 and UP1A to be almost the same. So make up your mind before it's too late to save your data. Via: Reddit Source

OnePlus announces mark the date, and Google pushes the brakes. What's going on? Android 14 is the upcoming version of Google's Operating System. Android 14 has been in beta testing for the better half of a year, and it was scheduled to launch on September 5th, according to the Google News channel on Telegram. It is slated to come with many new security measures and features like better memory management. Phone manufacturer OnePlus was also developing its flavor of the Operating System based on Android 14, named OxygenOS 14. It announced in a blog post the stable release of OxygenOS 14 scheduled for September 25, in line with Google's launch of Android 14. According to an insider, the source code release that was supposed to take place on September 5th has been delayed by a month to October 4th, 2023, which coincides with the Pixel 8 launch event. The Pixel 8 will be Google's latest installment of its phone lineup with exclusive features, including an Audio Magic Eraser and ultra-wideband (UWB) chip for better device location tracking. This seems to be a last-minute decision as the OnePlus announcement was made only a few days prior, and OEMs were anticipating the public source code release by now. It is unprecedented for an OEM to launch an OS before Google's source code release. The unusual move by Google is also a first for the search giant, as the release date was planned in advance, according to the leaker. OnePlus in its blog post, says, "Like clockwork, OnePlus strives to be among the first to adapt the new flavor of a major Android release to its OS". Ironically, it might be the first to launch the OS unless the date is postponed in light of the incident. We can expect to see an updated post from OnePlus about the push of the launch date. OxygenOS 14 is coming with a new proprietary performance platform named the Trinity Engine, which can achieve greater efficiency, according to OnePlus. Google may have made this move to launch Android 14 AOSP and its new Pixel device on the same day. Rahman says OEMs are being made aware that security vulnerability patches for the latest version of Android will be published on October 4, 2023. Whether OnePlus will proceed with its pre-scheduled release date and publish OxygenOS 14 with vulnerabilities or wait for Google to launch first, remains a question. Source: X Source

Do away with the defaults and make the lock screen your own. You spend a lot of time looking at your lock screen, so it’s worth making sure that it’s tailored to your tastes — and with the right information on display, it can save you several dozen phone unlocks a day as well. While Google’s new Android 14 OS is hardly packed full of headline-grabbing new features — most of the upgrades are subtle and incremental — one area that has seen a noticeable revamp is the options for customizing the lock screen. These extra customization options follow what Apple did with iOS 16: you’ve now got more control over the way the clock and the widgets look on your lock screen, alongside all the settings that were already in place, which I’ll recap. Here’s how lock screen customization works now, as tested on a Google Pixel 6 Pro running Android 14. Clock and widgets Take your pick of clock styles. Beneath the colour choices are more options for your lock screen. You can change the style of the lock screen clock to really stamp your personal taste on it. You can also now change the shortcuts in the corners of the display, giving you easier access to the Android tools you use the most. Start by opening Settings, then tap Wallpaper and style > Lock screen. You can get to the same screen by tapping and holding on the lock screen, then choosing Customize lock screen. Swipe left or right on the lock screen image to cycle between the different analog and digital clock styles that are available. Tap Clock colour and size, then colour to pick a shade for the clock font. You can adjust the lightness of the shade using the slider at the bottom. Switch to Size to select a Dynamic clock (which changes size based on what else is on the lock screen) or a Small clock (which always stays small). More lock screen options For more lock screen options, head back to the Lock screen tab in the Wallpaper & style page. Another new one: scroll down to and tap Shortcuts to choose the quick links that will appear in the lower left and right corners of the lock screen. You can pick from Camera, Do Not Disturb, Flashlight, Home, Mute, QR code scanner, Video camera, Wallet, or None. It’s up to you which shortcuts appear on the lock screen. You can also manage lock screen notifications and text. That’s the new Android 14 customization options covered, but you still have the previous set of options to play around with, too. Still on the Lock screen tab, toggle Show notifications on the lock screen to either show notifications (for extra convenience) or hide them (for extra privacy). Tap More lock screen options to get to a bunch of additional settings. Select Privacy to show or hide “sensitive content” in notifications (such as previews of incoming messages and emails). If you’ve set up your phone for multiple users, you can enable Add users from lock screen. Tap Add text on lock screen to have a message displayed — maybe your contact details (for if your phone gets lost) or a personal mantra to get you through the day. The Use device controls toggle switch determines whether or not you can control various Google Home devices (like smart lights) from the Quick Settings panel without unlocking your phone. The Double-line clock toggle switch controls whether or not the clock expands to fill two lines when the lock screen is empty. Tap Now Playing (if you have a Pixel phone) to control whether or not recognized song titles are shown on the lock screen; if the songs aren’t immediately recognized, there will be a search icon you can tap. If your Android phone supports an always-on display, you’ll see an Always show time and info toggle switch. Turn this on to always have the clock and any notifications shown on screen, but be aware that this will have some impact on battery life. If you have a Pixel, you can also enable Tap to check phone or Lift to check phone to more easily check your notifications. Lastly, there’s a Wake screen for notifications toggle switch you can enable if you want the screen to momentarily brighten up when notifications come in. Back to the basics Of course, basic lock screen customizations are still present and correct in Android 14. Head back to Wallpaper & style > Lock screen, and you’ll see a selection of wallpapers to pick from. Tap More wallpapers to see the full range of provided backdrops or to pick one from your phone’s gallery. Pick a wallpaper from Android’s built-in selection, or choose a photo of your own. colours can match the wallpaper you’ve chosen — or not. When you go into More wallpapers and choose a new image, you’ll be asked if you want to set it as the backdrop for the lock screen, the homescreen, or both screens. Above the wallpaper thumbnails on the Wallpaper & stylepage are the colour swatches: tap any icon to apply that colour scheme, or tap the three dots for more choices on the System colours page. Android now lets you set the colours of the operating system (menu backgrounds, fonts, accents and so on) using a palette based on your wallpaper pick. On the System colours page, tap Wallpaper colours if you want to use this approach. Tap Other coloursif you’d rather have the colour scheme fixed independently of the wallpaper you’ve chosen. There’s also a Dark themetoggle switch you can use to opt for a darker version of the selected colour scheme. All of these changes are previewed in the images above as you cycle through the different options. Source

The "highlights" are a new wallpaper picker and new lock screen clocks. Google's generative AI wallpaper maker. I get why the spaceship image is foggy and grainy, but why does the prompt of a house with flowers look like a washed out image from a horror movie? Google The new lock screen options feature several different clock styles. Google The location permission will link to the Google Play data usage explanations. Keep in mind, no one vets these claims, and they are volunteered by the developer. Google Android 14 is out today, along with a new Pixel phone. The OS is shipping to supported Pixel devices now, which means the Pixel 4a (5G) and every variant of the Pixel 5, 6, and 7, plus the Fold and Tablet. The big feature this year is a somewhat customizable home screen. You can pick from several different lock screen clock styles and customize the two bottom app shortcuts. This feels like a response to iOS 16's lock screen widgets (a feature Android used to have back in the 4.2 days) but not nearly as customizable. It's honestly hard to highlight a second Android 14 feature because this is one of the smallest Android releases ever. The first feature Google mentions in its blog post is a new wallpaper picker. On the Pixel 8, Android now has a built-in text-to-image AI wallpaper maker, presumably a feature that lets the Android team adhere to Google's "mandatory AI" company mandate. There's also a new monochrome theme if you're tired of all those "Material You" colours. Next up, we have... a redesigned battery charging indicator in the status bar? Updates to Android's runtime? You can make the screen and camera LED flash when a notification comes in. There's Ultra HDR image support, a sharable "Health Connect" data repository for fitness apps, and that phone-as-PC-webcam feature is launching. That's kind of it. Android 14 is rolling out to Pixel phones now, and Google expects many partners will be ready before 2024. Really, though, there's no rush this year. Listing image by Google Source

Google has released the second Developer Preview (DP2) of Android 14 that brings additional enhancements to privacy, security, performance, and more building on top of the first developer preview of Android 14 from last month. With DP2, Google is continuing to refine the large screen device experience for tablets, foldables, and more while optimizing the way apps work together, improve system health and battery life, and polish the end-user experience. There are several new features and improvements announced with DP2, including selected photo access, credential manager, safer implicit intents, and improvements to background work. Just like on iOS 14, Android 14 users can now grant apps access to only selected photos and videos, instead of the full library of all on-device media. When an app requests for media access, the new popup dialog will give users three permission choices: Allow access to all photos, Select photos, and Don’t allow. Android 14 will also add Credential Manager as a platform API that will allow developers to retrieve and store credentials with user-configured credentials providers. The API will not only support passwords but also allow apps to sign in using passkeys, which is the industry standard for passwordless sign-in. In terms of optimizations, the new preview includes improvements to Android's memory management system to improve resource usage when the applications are running in the background. Background work will be disallowed outside of conventional Android app lifecycle APIs such as foreground services, JobScheduler, or WorkManager. Google is pushing hard on making Android 14 a perfect operating system for foldables, building on the work done in Android 12L and 13. There's a new large screen gallery that contains design inspiration for social and communications, media, productivity, shopping, and reading app experiences. Android 14 also introduces various new PackageInstaller APIs that will allow app stores to improve their user experience, including the requestUserPreapproval() method that allows the download of APKs to be deferred until after the installation has been approved, the setRequestUpdateOwnership() method that allows an installer to indicate that it is responsible for future updates to an app it is installing, and the setDontKillApp() method that can seamlessly install optional features of an app. Android 14 brings new app compatibility features that are intended to make Android updates a less tedious process for developers. Devs now have more time to make necessary app changes as most app-facing changes are now on an opt-in basis. Google is expecting Android 14 to reach platform stability in June 2023 that will give developers several weeks before the official release for performing final testing. Developers can test the developer Preview 2 with their apps on the Android Studio SDK Manager to make them ready for the next Android update, Developers can also flash a system image on supported Pixel devices starting today, that include the Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7, Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel 5, or Pixel 4a (5G). You can learn more about Android 14 Developer Preview 2 on the official blog. Android 14 Developer Preview 2 is now available to download

Google's commitment to optimizing the user experience on larger-screen devices like foldables and tablets is evident with the recent introduction of Android 14 Beta 2. Alongside the highly anticipated Pixel Fold announcement, Google has incorporated several new features into the Android 14 Beta 2, including enhanced screen recording and an improved split-screen mode. However, the most significant addition to the platform is a comprehensive range of physical keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts have been discovered by Android expert Mishaal Rahman and are exclusively available on large-screen devices running Android 14. Android 14 will bring new keyboard shortcuts - Image courtesy of Google Revamped Android 14 keyboard shortcuts In Android 14 Beta 2, Google has introduced an overhauled keyboard shortcuts menu that replaces the previous list of shortcuts found in Android 13. The redesigned menu provides a seamless user experience and offers improved accessibility. To access this menu, users of Android 14 need to navigate to Settings -> System -> Keyboard -> Physical Keyboard, instead of the previous location at Settings -> System -> Languages & Input -> Physical Keyboard. The newly introduced Android 14 Beta 2 brings forth an impressive collection of 29 keyboard shortcut combinations. These shortcuts streamline various actions and tasks, allowing users to navigate their devices with greater ease and efficiency. Here are all the keyboard shortcuts available on Android 14 so far: Access notification shade: Search + N Take a full screenshot: Search + Ctrl + S Access list of shortcuts: Search + / Back button: Search + ~ | Search + Backspace | Search + Left Arrow Access home screen: Search + H | Search + Return Overview of open apps: Search + Tab Cycle through recent apps (forward): Alt + Tab Cycle through recent apps (back): Alt + Shift + Tab Launcher search: Search Hide and show taskbar: Search + T Access system settings: Search + I Access Google Assistant: Search + A Lock screen: Search + L Pull up Notes for quick memo: Search + Ctrl + N Split screen with current app on right: Search + Ctrl + Right Arrow Split screen with current app on left: Search + Ctrl + Left Arrow Switch from split screen to full screen: Search + Ctrl + Up Arrow Move split screen app: Search + Ctrl + Down Arrow Switch input language (next): Ctrl + Space | Search + Space Switch input language (previous): Ctrl + Shift + Space | Ctrl + Search + Space Open assist app: Search + A Open browser app: Search + B Open calculator app: Search + U Open calendar app: Search + K Open contacts app: Search + C Open email app: Search + E Open maps app: Search + M Open music app: Search + P Open SMS app: Search + S These shortcuts empower users to perform a range of actions effortlessly. Whether accessing the notification shade, capturing screenshots, navigating between apps, or managing multitasking through split-screen mode, these shortcuts enhance productivity and user convenience. How to join the Android 14 beta program? While the official release of Android 14 is scheduled for August, users can get an early glimpse of the upcoming Google mobile operating system by joining the Android 14 Beta program. To enroll in the program, simply visit google.com/android/beta. Being a part of the beta program grants users the opportunity to explore the latest features and improvements offered by Android 14 ahead of its official launch. Android 14 comes with 29 new keyboard shortcuts

It’s been in beta — but at Google I/O 2023, we’re learning what Android 14 is all about. It wouldn’t be Google I/O if the company didn’t have a new version of its smartphone and tablet operating system waiting in the wings — and while Android 14 got totally upstaged by AI and the company’s first folding phone, we’ve since learned more from the company’s developer sessions. Don’t get too excited: these changes are subtle! But here are a few ways Google’s “Upside Down Cake” might make your life slightly sweeter when it arrives this fall (autumn/Northern hemisphere). Every Android version has a dessert codename — Android 14’s is “Upside Down Cake,” and Android 13’s was “Tiramisu.” The codenames were public until 2019. Screenshot by Sean Hollister / Video by Google Ditch passwords Passkeys are already here — but not evenly distributed. In Android 14, third-party apps will be able to use your Android phone and your fingerprint alone to sign you up and let you in. There’s a new Credential Manager in Android 14 to walk you through those steps, and it can save multiple passkeys and passwords per app: Realistically, it’ll take a while for apps to adopt passkeys, but many password managers and sign-on services will add them more quickly. Google says 1Password, Dashlane, Keeper, and Okta “will be available when Android 14 launches.” Stop shady data brokers Ever had a perfectly good app turn around and sell your data to advertisers, data brokers, or worse? You might have never known — but in Android 14, your phone will send you a monthly notification warning you when apps have changed their data-sharing practices. Assuming Google finds out, anyhow. It’s part of a new data safety initiative, and you can see what it might look like in the images below: Also, you’ll get a specific warning when apps ask you for permission to share your location: a button labeled “this app stated it may share location data with third parties” that you can tap for more information. No more “urgent” notification spam clogging your screen Google has decided that full-screen, “extremely high-priority” notifications are probably not something that just any rando developer should be able to do. Starting with Android 14, they’re just for incoming calls and alarms. Good! Camera flash notifications and long loud volume alerts If you’re the kind of person who goes seriously head down, this might get your attention — you’ll be able to flash your phone’s camera flash or your entire screen when you get an incoming notification. Android 14 will also warn you when you’ve been listening to loud music for a long time with a nice big notification. Customize your lock screen with crafted clocks “Material You” isn’t going away in Android 14 — customization is here to stay: Google’s also got some AI-generated wallpaper coming to Pixels ahead of Android 14. Back to the back to the future Predictive Back was actually an Android 13 feature, but Android 14 amps it up with animations. Basically, you can see what you’ll get when you swipe to go back a page, before you actually finish swiping. Above you can see what it looks like in Spotify — a little sliding preview of the previous screen when you swipe back from an audio playback page. A one-stop health shop You might have heard Google launched a new Health Connect app to replace Google Fit — letting your health apps share data with your phone and vice versa — and that it might even come preinstalled on phones. The reality: Android 14 makes it an integrated part of the entire platform. “Starting with Android 14, Health Connect is part of the platform and receives updates via Google Play system updates without requiring a separate download,” writes Google. Hey, app developers: the company is only promising to maintain the legacy Google Fit APIs through 2024. Aid for hearing aids Hearing devices won’t just be another dumb Bluetooth bud in Android 14 — you can pick which sounds should go to your phone’s speaker and which should go to the listening device and swipe from your homescreen for dedicated controls. Smarter file transfer With Android 14, Google is recognizing there are long-running foreground processes that should get special treatment — like media playback, audio recording, and navigation. As part of that, it’s built a new API for backing things up to (and from) your phone. Google says if a user starts a data transfer with this API, it should keep running until it succeeds, rescheduling and automatically pausing if you lose your connection, and resuming when that connection is restored. Bigger text Two hundred percent font scaling, but non-linear so things don’t look ridiculous. Hooray for accessibility! Respect your regional preferences Celsius or Fahrenheit? Do your weeks begin on Monday or Sunday or perhaps even Thursday? What set of numbers do you use? Is your country’s language gendered? Android 14 will let you set the first three preferences and provide a Grammatical Inflection API so translated / localized apps can address people without potentially insulting them. Play lossless audio on USB headphones without missing calls You could maybe already do this — but when you did, Android had to hand over audio control to your USB headphones and lost the ability to ring and alarm you properly. In Android 14, there are standard APIs for lossless and high-res playback without all the hurdles. Keyboard, touchpad, and stylus enhancements I don’t have a lot of detail but I overheard this during one developer session: “Android 14 adds automatic layout configuration for keyboards, improved touchpad gesture detection, advanced stylus motion prediction, and more.” Mishaal Rahman at XDA Developers spotted some of this in a beta, too. Capture HDR images that older phones can still enjoy When you’re snapping HDR photos on your Pixel or Samsung, you might be doing so in a format that’s tough for older phones to load properly. Android 14 adds a new kind of JPEG image that’s actually two pictures in a single file: a normal SDR picture that can play on traditional screens and a “gain map” that captures the extreme brightness that only HDR displays can let you enjoy. Plus, metadata to combine them. Your grandpa’s old phone just reads it as a normal JPEG, but newer devices with nice bright screens get the full 10-bit HDR image. I don’t get why Google and Qualcomm are marketing this as “Ultra HDR,” but it sounds like a good addition! Fancy features for third-party cameras The ML Kit document scanner. Image: Google With In-sensor zoom, Google will let camera apps “leverage advanced sensor capabilities to give a cropped RAW stream the same pixels as the full field of view.” With Camera Extensions, Google will let apps “handle longer processing times, enabling improved images using compute-intensive algorithms like low-light photography on supported devices.” Night Sight in Instagram? With a Document Scanner API for ML Kit, coming in Q4, apps should be able to scan physical receipts and other text documents into digital ones. A more useful share button The Sharesheet is what pops up after you press the share button in an app, and Android 14 gives app developers a dedicated row for their own custom buttons there — plus it “uses more signals from apps to determine the ranking of the direct share targets to provide more helpful results for the user.” Rumored Android 14 features While those are all the notable features I saw confirmed during Google I/O, there are also more than a few intriguing additions to Android spotted in betas or other code. Here are a few you might see in the final release: Make your phone a PC webcam. Automatically switch to the best cell signal across two SIMs. Single-app screen recording. Hide your PIN from shoulder surfers and auto-confirm for faster PIN entry. A built-in bloatware removal tool. Automatically whip out your loyalty cards when you’re at the store. When is Android 14 coming out? August or September, probably. That’s what this Google image below suggests anyhow. 16 ways that Android 14 will subtly improve your phone

The much-awaited Google I/O 2023, the annual developer conference, commenced yesterday, captivating tech enthusiasts with a slew of announcements. Among the highlights were Google's focus on integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its products and the introduction of two new smartphones, the Pixel Fold and the Pixel 7a. However, software lovers were also treated to a sneak peek into the upcoming Android 14, the next iteration of Google's popular operating system. With a renewed emphasis on privacy, customization, and visual aesthetics, Android 14 aims to revolutionize the user experience. What are the new Android 14 features showcased at I/O 2023? With the unveiling of Android 14's remarkable features at Google I/O 2023, it's evident that Google is dedicated to enriching the user experience. The emphasis on customization, immersive visuals, creative expression, and streamlined device tracking showcases Google's commitment to staying at the forefront of technological innovation. Android enthusiasts can eagerly anticipate the arrival of Android 14, as it promises to redefine the boundaries of what a mobile operating system can offer. Android 14 is set to be published officially after July 2023 Customization galore: Enhanced lock screen personalization One of the standout features of Android 14 is the enhanced customization options for lock screens. Google's emphasis on personalization is evident as users can now exert greater control over their lock screen clocks. From selecting fonts, colours, sizes, and designs, to even adding lock screen shortcuts, Android 14 empowers users to make their lock screens truly their own. The ability to seamlessly switch between activities directly from the lock screen interface enhances convenience and efficiency. Immersive visual delights: Emoji and cinematic wallpapers Android 14 elevates visual aesthetics with its introduction of emoji and cinematic wallpapers. Users can now embrace a playful side by selecting from a vibrant range of emojis to create unique wallpapers for their home and lock screens. With interactive emojis that react to touch, the user's device comes alive with every interaction. Building upon the visual appeal, Android 14 introduces cinematic wallpapers, enabling users to transform ordinary photographs into mesmerizing 3D images. By incorporating motion effects, these dynamic wallpapers add depth and captivate attention, turning the user's device into a captivating window to another world. There are a lot of new Android 14 features unveiled in the Google I/O event Unlocking creativity: Generative AI wallpapers With Android 14's generative AI wallpapers, users are given the power to unleash their creativity. By selecting from various themes such as classical art or mystical botanicals, users can generate personalized wallpapers. The customizable prompts further refine the design, resulting in wallpapers that reflect the user's individuality. Android 14's generative AI wallpapers blur the boundaries between art and technology, fostering a unique and expressive user experience. Locate with ease: Revamped Find My Device feature Google recognizes the occasional misplacement of cherished devices and aims to alleviate the stress with Android 14's revamped Find My Device feature. If you accidentally leave your Google Pixel buds behind, for instance, you can now rely on nearby Android devices to assist in locating your Android 14-powered phone. This enhancement emphasizes Google's commitment to seamless integration and user convenience. Google showcases exciting Android 14 features at I/O 2023

Users with multiple profiles are getting locked out of local storage and losing data. Android 14 has a nasty storage bug that seems to be affecting users of the "multiple profiles" feature. The bug is about as bad as you can get, with users having "unusable" devices due to getting locked out of device storage. A few users are likening the experience to getting hit with "ransomware." Earlier reports had this bug limited to the Pixel 6, but Google seemed to ignore those reports, and now with a wider rollout, this does not seem device-specific. Everything upgrading to Android 14 this early seems to be affected: Pixel 6, 6a, 7, 7a, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet. The Google issue tracker for this is now up to over 350 replies and has had no response from Google. The bug is languishing at only the medium "P2" priority (P0 is the highest) and remains "unassigned," meaning, assuming the tracker is up to date, no one is looking into it. Some users have helpfully posted log files full of worrying messages, like, "Failed to open directory /data/media/0: Structure needs cleaning." Being locked out of your own device's data partition causes all sorts of bizarre issues. Some users are boot looping, others are stuck on a "Pixel is starting..." message, while others can get into the phone. If your phone tries to continue trucking with no local storage, you'll be inundated with all sorts of error messages. The camera app claims to be "out of storage," and you can't take screenshots because there's nowhere to store the screenshots. The file manager lists 0 bytes for every type of file and empty folder, and the files also aren't viewable from a PC over USB. The System UI and Settings also keep crashing. Basically, computers need storage to function! Android's user-profile system allows for both multiple users on a single device (which is good for tablets) and splitting up "home" and "work" profiles to keep your work data separate from your personal data, via duplicate apps. It sounds like the bug is only hitting users who take advantage of this rarely used feature, with lots of reports that the primary profile—that's usually the important one—gets locked out. Several users are complaining about the data lost from all of this, so it's a good time to remind people to always have a backup of everything on their phones. Even straight out of the box, Android has options for Google Photos automatic backups, Play Games storage of your game data, and a million other cloud-based data features (it would be nice if Android phones had a comprehensive whole-phone backup feature, though). While it is totally reasonable to expect your OS to keep running after an update, phones are uniquely vulnerable to getting lost/stolen/damaged, so having everything get stored somewhere else is a great idea. Shockingly, several users report the phone is automatically doing a factory reset, which deletes all your data, shutting down any possibility of data recovery. This feature should probably not exist, but it's another sign that phones are not a reliable storage medium for critical data. What's so strange about how Google is handling this bug is that the company has tools to deal with this. Google delivers software on a slow and often frustrating "roll out" strategy, where a small percentage of users will get an update at first, and as the days pass, more and more users opt in to the update. Google does this to see if any problems pop up via its extensive Android analytics system, and if a problem is detected, the update rollout can be halted, limiting the problem to as few people as possible. Why didn't that happen here? Surely, a bug where people are locked out of their phones and possibly lose data is worth halting a rollout, but it never happened. Google's entire response to this problem has been lacking. To our knowledge, no one from Google has officially addressed the issue in the 10-ish days it has been around. It hasn't issued statements to the several sites that have already reported on this. No one is replying to the bug tracker, and the issue is unassigned. What's up, Google? Source