Although the new Pixel 8 phones introduced by Google at the Made by Google event attracted the main attention, another important news was the release of the new Android update, Android 14. Android 14 is now available for installation on all supported Google devices, starting with the Pixel 4A.
There is not much surprising news for those who paid attention to the first operating system builds released last year. But if you haven’t been following the builds, the big, notable additions this year are all related to the Android lock screen. Android 14 adds a custom template-based lock screen selector that makes changing a selection of new fonts, backgrounds, and colors much faster.
Artificial intelligence powered wallpapers
Google allows users to create a wallpaper using AI image generator through a simple prompt. However, users will not have full control over the prompts and will only be able to choose between preset names and colors. These restrictions appear to be an effort to restrict users from creating potentially questionable or derivative artwork, but there are still plenty of other AI art generators you can use to create easy wallpaper images. This feature will also come to the recently announced Chromebook Plus models.
It’s also adding several new custom lock screen shortcuts that can direct users to their most used apps, like the QR reader or the Google Home app. Google added that the phone will now use artificial intelligence to detect things that might be important for you to see with a quick glance, like a change in the weather. In this case, Android 14 will adjust the size of the weather widget to be more prominent on the lock screen.
More visible permissions
Google says the permissions requested before accessing your data will also be much better. Now, if an app wants to use your data, such as your location, Android will send you notifications. This new permissions system is also very similar to iOS, which features Apple’s generally much better permissions system. Android also brings a new way to store users’ health data on their devices. This new method is available through a new Health Connect feature that should be able to work with fitness and health apps like Whoop or Peloton. This feature will encrypt your data on the device, which Google says no one other than the user should have access to the data.
The new Android features a new updated camera UI with an added button to easily switch between camera and video modes, and now allows Ultra High Dynamic Range for images as well as HDR for videos.
There are also several new accessibility options for people who have vision or hearing difficulties. Users can customize how the magnifier zooms in through settings and can now keep the magnifier open when switching from one app to another. Users can also change the font size a little more easily via Quick Settings. Users can also set up “Flash notifications” if they don’t usually hear sound notifications, and Google also says it’s adding a new way to easily connect hearing aids.
With this update, Pixel Fold also gets some innovations. Google’s first foldable device is finally getting dual-screen Live Translator mode, which will allow users to see what they’re talking on one side of the screen translated on the other side.
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