• The initial beta build for Android 14 has been released to the public.
• Beta testers and app developers are encouraged to check out all the new features using an emulator.
• Beta 1 comes with a few changes, including to Privacy and UI.

The public preview/beta process for Google’s latest Android OS has been mapped out and is set to run until July. The first official beta version of Android 14 was slated to launch sometime in April, according to the plan, and it did just that.

Android 14 is the highly anticipated latest version of Google’s smartphone OS, which is the world’s leading mobile operating system having an over 70 percent worldwide market share as of 2023. Most ODMs apply Android to their smartphones, usually with in-house skins on top.

The latest version of Android, still in development, is codenamed “Upside Down Cake” and will probably see its full launch sometime in July or August. We’re still far off from that as Android 14 just got its first beta released to the public as of Wednesday.

“Today we’re releasing the first Beta of Android 14, building around our core themes of privacy, security, performance, developer productivity, and user customization while continuing to improve the large-screen device experience on tablets, foldables, and more,” writes Dave Burke, Android VP of Engineering in a dev blog post.

Burke’s post gives some hints about the new system. Including what work is being done for Android 14’s multiple form factor support for foldables and tablets. Added to this are new additions to the UI, more graphics capabilities, more personalisation, app compatibilities, and improved privacy.

However most of the additions are aimed at third-party app developers currently, and not necessarily end-users as of yet.

In terms of UI additions, Android 14 comes with a new back arrow in the beta. The back arrow also complements user wallpapers and themes.

There is also a new sharesheet for apps on Android 14. The new system uses more app signals to determine the ranking of the sharing targets. Basically adding more sharing options, with a different UI.

In terms of privacy improvements, Android 14 Beta 1 introduces the “accessibilityDataSensitive” attribute, which allows apps to limit the visibility of certain views only to apps that claim to help users with disabilities.

Google Play Protect will ensure that these apps are truthful in their claims, Burke says. Apps can consider using accessibilityDataSensitive to:

• “Protect user data (such as personal details or plaintext passwords),
• Prevent critical actions from being executed unintentionally (such as transferring money or checking out in a shopping app).”

Burke adds finally that Android is looking for feedback on the new OS, and app developers can check out Android 14 beta 1 using an emulator via the Android Studio SDK manager.

Android recommends trying the latest preview of Android Studio Giraffe to test the new features and provide feedback here.

[Image – Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash]