The successor to Android 13 has arrived by surprise with a first version intended for developers. The update program provided by Google will remain active for several months until the arrival of the first beta of Android 14 (which will be ready at some point in April). However, to enjoy the final version of Android 14 we will have to wait until summer.
Android 14 Developer Preview 1 is now available for installation on Google Pixel devices and we are going to tell you about some of the new features included in the operating system.
What brings Android 14?
For starters, we have a new name: Upside Down Cake. We continue with the tradition of cake names (Android 13 was called Tiramisu) and now, it is the turn of Upside Down Cake. For the time being, Android 14 offers us better screen optimization on large format devices.
Users will also be able to scale fonts by up to 200%, which is ideal for those with vision problems. In addition, Google has confirmed that we will be able to rescale the screen to different levels, something that was not possible until recently.
One of the aspects where Android 14 has paid more attention has been privacy. If we go to permissions, we now have the possibility to choose whether we want to give full access (or not) to the photo gallery. Or what is the same: we can choose which specific images will be able to see the application that requires it. In addition, Android 14 will also prevent you from installing applications that are too old on your terminal.
Another new feature is Credential Manager, a new API that simplifies the user verification process. In the same way, security is also increased with the support of Passkeys. The latter is the ultimate replacement for passwords and other authentication methods.
On the other hand, we also have new features regarding user profiles. In the event that we have more than one active profile on a device, we will be able to access information such as call and message logs.
Google has provided on its website a calendar with the release schedule of the next versions of Android 14. As far as we can see, there will be two preliminary versions before the arrival of the beta program in April. After that, we will receive 4 beta versions before the final version of Android 14.
Where can I install Android 14?
If you own a Google Pixel, you’re in luck. As has been customary for years, these are the devices that will receive the preliminary versions of Android 14. The list of compatible phones would look like this:
- Google Pixel 4a and 4a (5G)
- Google Pixel 5
- Google Pixel 5a
- Google Pixel 6
- Google Pixel 6 Pro
- Google Pixel 6a
- Google Pixel 7
- Google Pixel 7 Pro
