Android 14 is finally available for anyone who wants to be early in testing Google’s next mobile software. The first public beta of Android 14 brings better privacy, system navigation, performance, and a lot more. Anyone with an eligible phone, such as a Pixel, can head to the Android 14 Developer website and start with the process. Remember this is an early beta for the public, so this version of Android 14 OS is likely to be full of bugs.
Google already previewed what Android 14 will be all about back in February when it launched the first Developer Preview. The Developer Preview 2 was pushed in March, but with the beta release, the general public gets an opportunity to test out the upcoming Android version.
One of the important aspects of Android 14 is system navigation. The gesture navigation, especially, gets a new more prominent back arrow when you slide your finger from the edge of the screen to go back to the previous app. The arrow now compliments the wallpaper of your device and its theme for a better look. But apart from being visually pleasing, the new back arrow will help users understand the predictive back gesture experience of Android 14 better.
Google has also improved the sharesheet in Android 14 by allowing apps to add custom actions. For instance, an app could allow you to choose specific functions in the sharesheet, instead of doing them separately inside the respective app. The system, Google said, now uses more app signals to determine the ranking of the direct share targets, meaning the ranking of entities you see in the sharesheet will now depend on app signals instead of their alphabetical order. However, the information on these signals is scarce at this point.
Android 14 also brings better graphics such as morphing effects, as well as enhanced language settings that will automatically set the language of an app according to your preference. Privacy has also improved in the upcoming Android version, allowing apps to limit the visibility of private data to accessibility services meant for users with disabilities.