Android 14
Android 14’s new and upcoming features: Samsung could brings for Galaxy devices
With every new Android version, Google has introduced some major changes food the Android device; for instance, Android 12 has brought a major feature Material You that has introduced the capability of color adaptation in the Android device, while with the latest Android 13, update company has some useful features like different language for each app and many more changes that enhanced the users’ experience. Android 14 may be like an additional push to Android 13 with some significant changes. Let’s discuss some features that will be available in Android 14.
Android 14’s New & Upcoming Features
Notification flashes
Notification Flash is a very useful feature for those users who are differently abled or sometimes they had problems hearing due to external noise disturbance. To turn on the notification feature, go to the system settings, then click on display, now touch the Flash notifications and turn on the Camera Flash or screen Flash.
Predictive Back Gestures (Upcoming)
The introduction of predictive back gestures in Android took place during the release of Android 14 Developer Preview 2. However, this feature had a brief lifespan as it was subsequently eliminated in the subsequent Developer Preview. In Android, applications employ layers to retain information about different app pages. To illustrate, consider the scenario where you are navigating the Display section within the Settings app—this section functions as a layer positioned above the primary layer of the Settings app.
New Find My Device (Upcoming)
Recently, the Find My Device app underwent a significant user interface transformation to align with the latest design language of Android. Furthermore, this app is slated to receive a series of fresh additions and enhancements during the upcoming fall season. Notably, Find My Phone will expand its compatibility to encompass an even broader array of devices, enabling users to locate their smartphones and accessories utilizing other Android devices connected within the network.
Camera and battery improved
With Android 14, Google has claimed to improve the battery of smartphones by optimizing the software so it can use the battery efficiently.
LockScreen Customizations (Upcoming)
Lockscreen customization will be the main attention of Android 14 as it will introduce some customized options for the lock screen and allow you to manage the lock screen according to your interest.
Magic compose (Upcoming)
Magic compose is a feature that will be added by Google to the messages later this summer. This feature will help you to write your text messages in different moods.
Photo Picker
Photo picker is a security enhancer feature that helps you to give access to your selected photos. Before these, there were only two options available in the interface containing all photos and Don’t allow. Now with the new option, you will get more security.
Tracker Prevention and Alerts
Although Google’s endeavor to persuade Apple to adopt RCS has thus far proven unsuccessful, there is a notable area where both tech giants have collaborated: privacy. Specifically, they have jointly focused on implementing Tracker Prevention alerts. Regardless of the Android device you possess, if an unidentified tracker is monitoring your activities, your Android device will promptly notify you and assist in identifying its source. This collaboration represents a significant achievement for Google in the realm of privacy.
App Cloning (Upcoming)
Nowadays, people have more than one account in one app. But there is no option available on those apps themselves, so users have to download cloning apps and open an account in them; this takes a risk as these apps may contain spyware, but with Android 14, you will get the cloning app facility by default.
Note: Some of the above mentioned features are already available in Samsung One UI.
When will Android 14 be available on your device?
Initially, Google will release Android 14 to its own Android devices, i.e., Pixel smartphones. After this or prior, Samsung will also start releasing beta updates to the flagship devices; then, after completing the beta stage, it will push stable One UI 6 with Android 14 updates to the devices which have already got the beta updates. Then it expands the update to other eligible Galaxy devices.
Android 14
Google Get Inspired By Samsung; As It Copies Secure Folder Feature Housed In Galaxy Phones
Is Google following Samsung? With the Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2.1, it offers a new option for private space, which Samsung already offers with the title Secure Folder.
Google released Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 in November 2023, which introduced a feature called ‘Private Space’ already housed in Samsung devices as Secure Folder. Since reports have been around for several days that the latest iteration of Android 15 will be dedicated to more security and will bring tons of new features to enhance users’ secure experiences, one of the awaiting features is Private Space.
The upcoming Private Space feature will allow the user to install the application in a separate, locked profile, which they can hide at any time. Although this feature has been in the development phase for a long time, it has not yet gone live. Let’s take a closer look.
The new feature named ‘Lock private space automatically’ will allow users to configure the feature to automatically lock the protected space depending on one of the two sub-options they select in it, which are ‘Every time device lock’ and ‘After 5 minutes of inactivity.’ While choosing the first, the feature will lock Privact Space instantly after they lock the device.
But here’s the catchable fact: Secure Folder, available on Galaxy devices, already offers this feature, so somewhere it seems like Google got inspired by Samsung.
The reports are also saying that when users set up Private Space, the feature now recommends them to create a dedicated Google account for using it to’stop data appearing outside private space; for instance, ‘Synced photos, files, emails, contacts, calendar events, and other data,’ and many more. This suggestion and the option to automatically lock the protected space further enhance the privacy and security of private space.
Upcoming Private Space will offer a redesign setup flow to deliver a better idea of the feature. Since this feature initially appeared in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 and then Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2.1, it is expected that Android 15 will bring this feature to enhance the secure experience.
Google is preparing for its second-pixel drop update for this year. To develop it, the company has already started the Android 14 QPR3 Beta updates. Now, moving forward, it has started rolling out the Beta 2.1 updates, while earlier it rolled out two more beta updates, including Beta 1 and Beta 2, which brought several fixes.
Android 14 QPR 3 2.1 beta update: What’s New
The Android 14 QPR3 beta 2.1 is now available for Pixel devices. It is carrying the firmware version number AP21.240305.005. It is still using the March 2024 patch for security, but now it is live for all the eligible Pixel devices, including the Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8, and Pixel 8 Pro. With the latest update, several issues have been fixed, which will surely improve the overall experience of the devices.
With the latest update, there are several problems related to the UI that have been solved. This includes a launcher crash, a charging issue in the Pixel tablet, the home screen, the layout of notifications, wallpaper settings, ‘Quick tap to start actions’ gesture functionality, and many more.
Along with this, the update changelog also shares information about the top open issues and some common issues related to the Android platform and Google apps. For more details, check out the full changelog below.
Android 14 QPR 3 Beta 2.1 changelog
- Fixed an issue that sometimes caused a device’s launcher to crash when trying to view recent apps. (Issue #328803294)
- Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented Pixel Tablet devices from charging while connected to the dock. (Issue #299800125)
- Fixed an issue where swiping up from the bottom of the screen didn’t always return to the home screen.
- I fixed an issue that caused the layout of notifications on the lock screen to display with additional padding.
- Fixed various issues that were causing frequent “Application not responding” errors for both system and user apps.
- Fixed an issue where swiping down from the top of the screen didn’t always show the notification shade.
- Fixed an issue for Pixel Fold devices where sometimes, when the device was unfolded, only half of the inner screen displayed content.
- Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented a user’s wallpaper settings from being backed up properly.
- Fixed an issue that sometimes stopped the “Quick Tap to Start Actions” gesture from working.
- Fixed various other issues that were impacting system stability, performance, connectivity, interactivity, and camera
Top open issues
See Top Open Issues for the latest list of issues that have been reported by developers.
Other known issues
Based on our testing, you might encounter the following issues when using Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2.1: These issues are already known, so there’s no need to file additional reports for similar issues.
Android platform
- An issue with sideloading the Beta 2 build can sometimes cause a device to fail to boot properly after sideloading is completed. Due to the potential disruption that this issue can cause, we’ve temporarily disabled downloads for OTA images until we can further troubleshoot the issue. To work around this issue, we recommend that developers flash a factory image to test devices instead.
Google apps
- The Assistant The Glance widget sometimes displays weather information for the wrong location.
Samsung is always ahead in terms of distributing updates, whether they are related to Android or security patches. However, it is worth noticing that the company schedules the update for older Galaxy devices late, but carefully it provides the update to each eligible device, even if it is not so popular, like when it rolled out the update for the Galaxy Tab A7 lite.
Galaxy Tab A7 Lite has already grabbed the One UI 6.0 update in several regions, including South Korea; now it is getting the update in the US. More specifically, the device is getting a new update on the Verizon network; it is coming with the firmware version number T227USQU8DXB4.
The latest software update for the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite brings the One UI 6.0 update, which will improve the UI and other settings of the devices. It will ultimately enhance the overall user experience of the device, even for the existing functionalities.
In a nutshell, the One UI 6.0 will bring several features to the existing functions, including Quick Panel, Lock Screen, Home Screen, Typeface, Multitasking, Samsung Keyboard, Content Sharing, Weather, Camera, and many more. If you want to know more details, you can check out the dedicated article.
The update also brings the December 2023 security patch, which will improve the device internally. If you want to take advantage of the new update, then you should update your device to the latest version. If you are using the Verizon-locked version of the Galaxy A7 Lite, then you should start receiving the update, but if you don’t receive the update, then you have to wait for some time.