Achim Maier
In its keynote at I/O 2023, Google primarily talked about AI functions and presented the Google Pixel Fold, Pixel 7a and Pixel Tablet. The Californians also unveiled Android 14 Beta 2 with various bug fixes. In addition, the cameras now support 10-bit HDR images in the Ultra HDR image format (v0.9.1), which is fully compatible with JPEG images.
Android 14 also allows apps and extensions longer processing times for better low-light images. You can tap to focus and zoom, and in-sensor zoom is also natively supported. The latest beta also adds support for lossless audio over USB. In addition, Google Health Connect will be an integral part of Android 14 and will store health and fitness data.
Android 14 also gets a new location data permissions dialog that also warns when apps with location permission change their data sharing permissions. All of these features can be accessed through the device settings menu. Android 14 will achieve platform stability with Beta 3 in June. Then there are two more beta versions until the finished software.
New customization options in Android 14
Generative AI was also a big point at Google I/O, and Android 14 is getting several new AI-powered customization features. Of these, AI wallpapers are probably the most interesting feature. A prompt will appear in the background settings menu where you can select a theme and style for your background image. Then Google text-to-image diffusion creates several unique background images. Generative AI wallpapers will be coming as a Pixel-exclusive feature drop starting next month.
The native Google Messages app also gets generative AI tuning with Magic Compose. The feature offers AI replies based on chats. You can choose a writing style that ranges from excited to Shakespearean, but produce succinct and professional responses.
The lock screen is also revised in Android 14 and gets new fonts, colors, clock sizes and design options. You can also customize the two context menus in the corner to suit your personal preferences.
Android 14 also brings emoji and cinematic backgrounds. You can select up to 14 emojis and browse through different patterns, colors and size layouts. Cinematic backgrounds can be expanded with a parallax effect and appear three-dimensional when tilting the Google Pixel smartphone.
Finally, Find My Device gets a major overhaul in Android 14, and now supports a wider range of devices from different manufacturers over Bluetooth, even when they’re offline. This also includes headphones, smartwatches and GPS trackers, as well as tablets and other devices. Find My Device also detects if a GPS tracker is moving nearby and helps with localization.
Beta already available for first Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, vivo and Nothing phones
Smartphone manufacturers are also slowly beginning to adapt the Android 14 beta. Beta 1 is now available for nine non-Google phones. These include the Nothing Phone (1), OnePlus 11, vivo X90 Pro, iQOO 11, Realme GT 2 Pro, Xiaomi 12T, Xiaomi 13, Xiaomi 13 Pro and Oppo Find N2 Flip.
As usual, however, the Android 14 Beta 1 can still contain bugs, so you should avoid installing it on your primary device. In addition, the beta builds for the Nothing Phone (1), OnePlus 11, vivo X90 Pro, iQOO 11, Realme GT 2 Pro and Oppo Find N2 Flip also still have known problems. If you still want to try the Android 14 Beta 1, you can find the installation instructions under the following links:.
Nothing Phone (1) / OnePlus 11 / vivo X90 Pro / iQOO 11 / Realme GT 2 Pro / Xiaomi 12T / Xiaomi 13 / Xiaomi 13 Pro / Oppo Find N2 Flip
