Google rolls out Android 14 Developer Preview for Pixel devices: all the details

Google has announced the release of Android 14 developer preview. However, it is currently available exclusively for Pixel smartphones including Pixel 7, Pixel 6, Pixel 6a, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a and Pixel 4a series. The developer preview brought a bunch of updates and features, including better interface speed, power consumption optimizations, and security and privacy upgrades. It also added larger fonts with non-linear scaling for all applications. It has also optimized the battery usage of background apps.

According to details shared on Google’s Android developer page, Android 14 developer preview images are available on a number of Pixel devices. These include the Pixel 7 series, which includes the vanilla variant and Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 5 series, Pixel 5a and Pixel 4a. Users can access the Android 14 system image by using the Android Flash tool or by installing it manually. The Android 14 developer preview also previewed upcoming features and improvements.

The Android 14 developer preview hints at larger fonts in the new update with non-linear scaling up to 200%, which is currently 130% on Pixel devices. Developers can test this by going to Settings > Accessibility > Display Size and Text Settings. Improved font scaling also applies to large screens and foldable devices. In another major change, permissions will no longer be pre-granted to most newly installed apps, but will be denied by default.

The new operating system will also optimize battery usage by apps running in the background. This will prevent unwanted apps from using the phone’s battery. Additionally, the update will also allow apps to use less power in the background when downloading files. It will also include updated lists of restricted non-SDK interfaces.

Tipster Mishaal Rahman also share his contributions to developments regarding Android 14. According to his tweets, Android 14 is also testing an app cloning feature allowing users to run two copies of the same app through two accounts.