2 min Applications

Android 14 launch approaching with Beta 4

Android 14 launch approaching with Beta 4

Android 14 is most likely in its final testing phase. Google is asking app developers to “complete compatibility testing and publish any necessary updates.”

DevClass suggests that an August or September launch date is most likely, although there is no concrete indication from Google yet. The current test version can be used for bug fixes in Pixel phones from 4a and up and via the Android Emulator.

Android 14 should be well-equipped to work with OpenJDK 17, a Long Term Support (LTS) release of the Java SDK.

New features

Android 14 is mainly an update targeting accessibility rather than resounding changes. For example, there will be an option to opt for 200% scaling, intended to make text as clearly visible as possible. For use cases, think of visually impaired people with smaller screens on their phones. However, this may cause compatibility issues for some apps, but the future will tell.

Another interesting feature comes under the heading of “predictive back gestures.” With this feature, one can see what a back swipe action will actually perform. For example, there are apps that close with a swipe to the right, while another uses this to go back to a previous page. Especially if the app quickly forgets the most recent page again, accidentally closing it can lead to frustration. So now Android 14 is going to communicate what performs this action.

Properly addressed

Other improvements come across as a piece of housekeeping from Google. For example, the new Grammatical Inflection API can ensure that the user is properly addressed in languages with many grammatical genders. For example, currently a woman may be addressed with male conjugations, even though the app may have already given a gender choice. Now that should be fixed without too much work for developers.

Also read: Major update for Android on Windows: these are the improvements