Yeah, yeah, there’s all that hubbub surrounding Google’s new {hardware} just like the Pixel 8 the corporate is lastly displaying off at its Made by Google occasion Wednesday. However for many who don’t plan on making the swap to the newest Google telephone or Pixel Watch 2, probably the most thrilling factor coming from Google is the subsequent Android replace rolling out in the present day to all supported units.
For individuals who have been taking note of early OS builds launched over the previous yr, there’s not a lot right here that may shock you. In any other case, the large, eye-catching additions this yr all need to do with the Android lock display screen. Android 14 provides a template-based customized lock display screen picker that makes swapping out a choice of new fonts, backgrounds, and colours a good bit sooner.
That’s to not say the lock display screen is any much less customizable. Google will let customers create a wallpaper by way of an AI picture generator with a easy immediate. Nevertheless, customers received’t have full management over the prompts, and so they can solely choose between pre-set nouns and colours. These restrictions appear to be an effort to limit customers from creating some doubtlessly iffy or spinoff artworks, however then once more, there are many different AI artwork turbines on the market for creating simple wallpaper photos.
That function can also be ultimately coming to the recently-announced Chromebook Plus fashions. Should you’re not searching for something so loopy, there’s additionally a monochromatic theme that may use minimal colours throughout the complete Android ecosystem, from the lock display screen to the common-or-garden calculator app.
There are a number of new customized lock display screen shortcuts that may take customers to their most-used apps just like the QR reader or Google Dwelling app. Who wants an iPhone 15 Professional motion button, anyway? Google added that the telephone will now use AI to detect what needs to be most vital at a look, akin to a flip within the climate. In that case, Android 14 will alter the scale of the climate widget to be extra distinguished on the lock display screen.
Apart from customization choices, Google stated it’s going to be quite a bit higher about asking for permission earlier than accessing your knowledge. Now, Android will embrace notifications if an app desires to make use of knowledge like your location. The brand new permissions system is relatively akin to iOS, as Apple has been quite a bit higher at giving customers management over who has entry to their knowledge. Android can also be selling a brand new approach to retailer customers’ well being knowledge on their units. That is by way of a brand new Well being Join function that needs to be interoperable by way of health and well being apps like Whoop or Peloton. This could encrypt your knowledge to the gadget, the place Google says no one however the person ought to have entry to it.
There’s a brand new up to date digicam UI with an added button to simply swap between digicam and video modes, and Android now permits Extremely Excessive Dynamic Vary for photos in addition to HDR in movies.
There are additionally a number of new accessibility choices for many who are onerous of imaginative and prescient or listening to. Customers can customise how zoomed within the magnifier goes by way of settings, and now customers can preserve the magnifier on when switching from one app to the subsequent. Customers can even change font dimension a bit simpler by way of the Fast Settings. Customers can even arrange “Flash notifications” in the event that they don’t normally hear the sound notifications, plus Google stated it’s added a brand new approach to simply join listening to aids.
The Pixel Fold and Pixel Pill are additionally getting some love on this newest replace. Google’s first foldable is lastly getting the promised dual-screen Reside Interpreter mode that lets customers communicate sort by way of one aspect of the display screen to point out a translated model on the opposite aspect. The Pixel Pill will obtain a brand new, streamlined navigation bar that ought to make it simpler for youthful kids to swipe by way of if you really want to distract the younglings in your life. The pill can even enable Google Assistant to play podcasts and information whereas docked in Hub Mode.
So far as Android updates go, 14 is relatively mundane. We’ll need to dig in to see if there are any surprises in retailer, particularly any indicators we are able to use an Android telephone as a webcam when linked to a laptop computer or desktop as code in an earlier 14 construct steered.
