Toni Dimaano Tech 03.09.2023 05:Mar AM EST

Android 14 Developer Preview Focuses On New Security, Privacy Features

In order to test their applications against the changes coming in this year's major mobile OS update, app developers may now download the second developer preview of Android 14 from Google.

According to The Verge, Android 14 will have passkey support, media privacy permissions, and better battery life.

The Preview Features Operational Improvements To Android Devices

The majority of the enhancements in this most recent release were already discussed in the initial developer beta of Android 14 back in February.

This involves enhancing Android devices' functionality, altering app security and privacy restrictions, and introducing a new API that permits passkey-based passwordless sign-in.

The Credential Management platform API, which offers other sign-in methods in addition to the standard username-password combinations, is also tested as part of the Android 14 preview.

This API has been around for a while, since the initial Android 14 preview includes support for it, but Google has since made improvements based on its initial feedback.

In fact, in anticipation of the arrival of Android 14 later this year, certain services, such as password manager Dashlane, have already hinted at passkey inclusion.

Additionally, by allowing consumers more discretion over how their information is shared, Android 14 will also boost privacy.

Instead of enabling apps to access their entire media library, Google has revised the photo picker first introduced in Android 13 to allow Android 14 users to decide which photographs and videos on the device apps are permitted to access.

The new Android photo picker will now ask users if they want to give an app access to only certain photos instead of always having to grant access to every photo and video on a given device.

This is perhaps the most significant new privacy feature worth mentioning here and one that will be user-facing, Tech Crunch notes.

To make sure that their apps can manage this new permission and selection procedure, Google is requesting that developers test this new behavior with their apps.

What Else Is Optimized With The Second Android 14 Preview

According to The Verge, system health and battery life have also been improved in the second Android 14 preview.

With this update, Google is also bringing new memory management system enhancements to Android, which will more rapidly prevent background processes from apps that have entered a cached state.

Android's memory management mechanism has been improved, which will prevent background apps from consuming excessive resources.

Google will now make it simpler for users to more finely customize various Android settings, including temperature units, the start of the week, and numbering systems.

In order to prepare for the introduction of Android 14 later this year, developers should now begin their compatibility testing, as noted by Google, Tech Crunch reports.

The Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7, Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel 5, and Pixel 4a (5G) all have system pictures available, in addition to images for the Android Emulator.

Only users of the Android 14 developer preview have access to this early preview, which means that new preview users must manually download it, while existing preview users can automatically receive an update over the air.