Google has announced the public Beta release of Android 14, offering new features that focus on system navigation, privacy, performance, and user customization. This Beta release is aimed at both developers and early adopters. The company’s blog post highlights the core themes of Android 14, including privacy, security, performance, developer productivity, and user customization. Google has also improved the large-screen device experience for tablets, foldable devices, and more.
One of the new features in Android 14 is an updated back arrow under the gesture navigation system. This feature helps improve the understanding and usefulness of the back gesture when interacting with an app. The back arrow also complements the user’s wallpaper or device theme.
Another feature in Android 14 is the new system share sheet. This page opens when users tap to share content and allows developers to add custom app-specific actions to the top of the share menu. Google describes this as an “improved” experience compared to the Android share sheets that always sort share targets alphabetically. The new share sheet uses more app signals to determine how the direct share targets should rank.
Android 14 Beta also includes new graphical features, such as morphing effects, and enhanced language settings that automatically assign language preferences to applications. Privacy is also improved with the ability for apps to limit the visibility of sensitive data to access services that claim to assist disabled users.
Overall, the release of the Android 14 Beta offers developers and early adopters a glimpse of the new features and improvements that Google has been working on. With its focus on privacy, security, performance, developer productivity, and user customization, Android 14 promises to be an exciting release for Android users.
