Android 14 increases the maximum number of cached applications to 1024 (up from 32)!
That's a HUGE increase.
This was made possible thanks to the improvements Android 14 made to freezing cached apps (so they consume 0 CPU time) and to optimizing context-registered broadcasts.
Source
H/T Thai Nguyen on Twitter
That's a HUGE increase.
This was made possible thanks to the improvements Android 14 made to freezing cached apps (so they consume 0 CPU time) and to optimizing context-registered broadcasts.
Source
H/T Thai Nguyen on Twitter
Here's a quick rundown on where some OEMs are at when it comes to their Android 14 releases:
ASUS: Last week, opened up an Android Preview Program for users of the Zenfone 10 to test Android 14. No details are available about this build, since enrollees have to agree to confidentiality.
OnePlus: Launched OxygenOS 14 Open Beta 1 for the OnePlus 11 last month, now on Open Beta 2 but Beta 3 is dropping soon. Earlier today, OxygenOS 14 Open Beta 1 released for the OnePlus Pad and OnePlus Nord 3 (India only).
Nothing: An open beta for Nothing OS 2.5 based on Android 14 was announced earlier this week. Currently available for the Nothing Phone (2).
Samsung: Formally announced One UI 6.0 based on Android 14 at the Samsung Developers Conference (SDC) last week. The sixth One UI 6.0 beta is currently available for the Galaxy S23 series in select markets. A beta is also available for the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy A34.
Xiaomi: A "Beta Stable" (ie. Release Candidate) build is available for MIUI beta testers with the Xiaomi 12T, Xiaomi 13, and Xiaomi 13 Pro. Kacper Skrzypek says these updates have at least partially been pushed to non-beta users, so it's fair to say the Android 14 update is slowly rolling out now to these devices.
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I have received devices from each of these OEMs recently and have been wanting to do more coverage on their respective forks of Android. Waiting for them to release their stable builds of Android 14 so I can dive in!
ASUS: Last week, opened up an Android Preview Program for users of the Zenfone 10 to test Android 14. No details are available about this build, since enrollees have to agree to confidentiality.
OnePlus: Launched OxygenOS 14 Open Beta 1 for the OnePlus 11 last month, now on Open Beta 2 but Beta 3 is dropping soon. Earlier today, OxygenOS 14 Open Beta 1 released for the OnePlus Pad and OnePlus Nord 3 (India only).
Nothing: An open beta for Nothing OS 2.5 based on Android 14 was announced earlier this week. Currently available for the Nothing Phone (2).
Samsung: Formally announced One UI 6.0 based on Android 14 at the Samsung Developers Conference (SDC) last week. The sixth One UI 6.0 beta is currently available for the Galaxy S23 series in select markets. A beta is also available for the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy A34.
Xiaomi: A "Beta Stable" (ie. Release Candidate) build is available for MIUI beta testers with the Xiaomi 12T, Xiaomi 13, and Xiaomi 13 Pro. Kacper Skrzypek says these updates have at least partially been pushed to non-beta users, so it's fair to say the Android 14 update is slowly rolling out now to these devices.
—-
I have received devices from each of these OEMs recently and have been wanting to do more coverage on their respective forks of Android. Waiting for them to release their stable builds of Android 14 so I can dive in!
You can now build Android Automotive for the Pixel Tablet!
Add Tangorpro_car build support | Add aosp_tangorpro_car to COMMON_LUNCH_CHOICES
(H/T Al Sutton, Francisco Franco)
Obviously there's no benefit for users running Android Automotive on the Pixel Tablet, but it could be useful if you need a portable AAOS test device.
Many Pixel phones can be used to test AAOS, but a tablet is better since its screen more closely matches a typical head unit.
AAOS has been unofficially ported to several Samsung tablets in the past, but it's nice to see Google's latest Android tablet gain official support for this.
Add Tangorpro_car build support | Add aosp_tangorpro_car to COMMON_LUNCH_CHOICES
(H/T Al Sutton, Francisco Franco)
Obviously there's no benefit for users running Android Automotive on the Pixel Tablet, but it could be useful if you need a portable AAOS test device.
Many Pixel phones can be used to test AAOS, but a tablet is better since its screen more closely matches a typical head unit.
AAOS has been unofficially ported to several Samsung tablets in the past, but it's nice to see Google's latest Android tablet gain official support for this.
Some tidbits from Google's AMA on Reddit about Android 14:
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In Google's Ask Me Anything (AMA) about Android 14 on Reddit, someone asked about the status of satellite SOS/SMS.
In response, Google said they're "working on it! In fact you can see the new telephony satellite interface in Android 14 source code. More to come on the Satellite eSOS feature soon."
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The Pixel 8 series will add support for lossless USB audio in a future later release, according to Dave Burke in response to a comment from a Redditor.
Android 14 added support for lossless audio formats over USB wired headsets.
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Dave Burke has shared more details about the new optimizations in ART 14, the major new version of the Android Runtime that's available in Android 14 (and will likely be backported to Android 12+ devices via a Project Mainline update).
For context, Google earlier said ART 14 "includes optimizations that reduce code size by an average of 9.3% without impacting performance." The smaller the files containing the code that ART has to interpret, the better it is for memory and storage.
According to Burke, these ART optimizations include "dead code elimination, collapse return statements, etc. An average phone can have 500MB-1GB of optimized code so this translates to a 50-100MB savings!"
—-
In Google's Ask Me Anything (AMA) about Android 14 on Reddit, someone asked about the status of satellite SOS/SMS.
In response, Google said they're "working on it! In fact you can see the new telephony satellite interface in Android 14 source code. More to come on the Satellite eSOS feature soon."
—-
The Pixel 8 series will add support for lossless USB audio in a future later release, according to Dave Burke in response to a comment from a Redditor.
Android 14 added support for lossless audio formats over USB wired headsets.
—-
Dave Burke has shared more details about the new optimizations in ART 14, the major new version of the Android Runtime that's available in Android 14 (and will likely be backported to Android 12+ devices via a Project Mainline update).
For context, Google earlier said ART 14 "includes optimizations that reduce code size by an average of 9.3% without impacting performance." The smaller the files containing the code that ART has to interpret, the better it is for memory and storage.
According to Burke, these ART optimizations include "dead code elimination, collapse return statements, etc. An average phone can have 500MB-1GB of optimized code so this translates to a 50-100MB savings!"
Google Photos is switching to the system sharesheet in Android 14!
This already appears to be rolling out for some users. Rita El Khoury mentioned she has it on her Pixel 8 Pro, and another user with an 8 Pro (Mustachedminer) told me they also have it on version 6.56.
Let me know if you see this too!
For more information on how Android 14 is improving the system share sheet, check out this article I wrote for Esper.
This already appears to be rolling out for some users. Rita El Khoury mentioned she has it on her Pixel 8 Pro, and another user with an 8 Pro (Mustachedminer) told me they also have it on version 6.56.
Let me know if you see this too!
For more information on how Android 14 is improving the system share sheet, check out this article I wrote for Esper.
Android Device Streaming, which is currently in Alpha, has added 13 new devices to stream, including several Samsung Galaxy devices!
This upcoming service will let you test apps on real Android devices located remotely in a Google data center, all through Android Studio.
Some of the devices that were just added include:
FUJITSU F-01L
Google Pixel 8
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Motorola Moto G20
Samsung Galaxy A51
Samsung Galaxy Note9
Samsung Galaxy S8
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3
SHARP AQUOS sense2 SH-01L
(Thanks to anonymous for the tip!)
This upcoming service will let you test apps on real Android devices located remotely in a Google data center, all through Android Studio.
Some of the devices that were just added include:
FUJITSU F-01L
Google Pixel 8
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Motorola Moto G20
Samsung Galaxy A51
Samsung Galaxy Note9
Samsung Galaxy S8
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3
SHARP AQUOS sense2 SH-01L
(Thanks to anonymous for the tip!)
I WAS RIGHT! THE PIXEL 8 SUPPORTS DISPLAY OUTPUT!
Earlier I shared a method to enable DisplayPort Alt Mode on the Pixel 8. At first I thought it didn't work, but Micha Lechner (@mile_freak07) tried the same method and it worked for him!
Video proof + full details available in this article.
The fact that this works after changing a single system property means Google could enable display output in an OTA update if they want.
I suspect they're waiting until Android's desktop mode is in a better state, though.
Earlier I shared a method to enable DisplayPort Alt Mode on the Pixel 8. At first I thought it didn't work, but Micha Lechner (@mile_freak07) tried the same method and it worked for him!
Video proof + full details available in this article.
The fact that this works after changing a single system property means Google could enable display output in an OTA update if they want.
I suspect they're waiting until Android's desktop mode is in a better state, though.
Qualcomm and Google have announced that they're developing a RISC-V Snapdragon Wear platform for Wear OS smartwatches.
Google has been working to bring RISC-V support to AOSP, and as of now, they're still working on cuttlefish virtual device and ART support. The shell and command-line tools work, though.
As part of this collaboration, Google and Qualcomm are working to ensure that "applications and a robust software ecosystem for RISC-V will be available for commercial launches." Qualcomm "plans to commercialize the RISC-V based wearables solution globally including the U.S."
The commercial product launch timing of this RISC-V wearable platform will be disclosed "at a later date."
Edit: As for why this matters, this article I wrote back in early 2021 is still relevant I believe.
Google has been working to bring RISC-V support to AOSP, and as of now, they're still working on cuttlefish virtual device and ART support. The shell and command-line tools work, though.
As part of this collaboration, Google and Qualcomm are working to ensure that "applications and a robust software ecosystem for RISC-V will be available for commercial launches." Qualcomm "plans to commercialize the RISC-V based wearables solution globally including the U.S."
The commercial product launch timing of this RISC-V wearable platform will be disclosed "at a later date."
Edit: As for why this matters, this article I wrote back in early 2021 is still relevant I believe.
Google Maps can now show you real-time weather information about a location. This includes the current temperature and weather conditions for the next few hours as well as the air quality.
This is rolling out for some users (I got it on my Pixel 7 Pro) and is accessed by tapping the pill under the left edge of the search bar.
Thanks to colorkin for the tip!
Edit: You can also get real-time weather information in Immersive View.
This is rolling out for some users (I got it on my Pixel 7 Pro) and is accessed by tapping the pill under the left edge of the search bar.
Thanks to colorkin for the tip!
Edit: You can also get real-time weather information in Immersive View.
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Android's built-in QR code scanner can now automatically zoom in to scan barcodes that are far away!
This makes use of the new "auto-zoom" feature added to ML Kit's Barcode Scanning library, which powers the QR code scanner available on Android 13+ devices with Google Play Services.
One Pixel 8 Pro user on Reddit mentions getting this feature, but I haven't seen any other reports of it rolling out. Let me know if it works for you!
(Thanks to Armando Rod for the tip!)
This makes use of the new "auto-zoom" feature added to ML Kit's Barcode Scanning library, which powers the QR code scanner available on Android 13+ devices with Google Play Services.
One Pixel 8 Pro user on Reddit mentions getting this feature, but I haven't seen any other reports of it rolling out. Let me know if it works for you!
(Thanks to Armando Rod for the tip!)
An update to the Google Clock app is rolling out that adds the following features:
* A new "weather forecast" toggle when setting an alarm. When the alarm is dismissed, the Clock app will show you the weather forecast for the day.
* A new "alarm sync" option in settings. This features syncs alarms between your phone and your Pixel Watch. This works on the Pixel Watch 2 running Wear OS 4 as well as the first-gen Pixel Watch running Wear OS 3 after you update the Google Clock app on the watch.
* A new "change temperature units" item if you've set up the "local weather on clock" feature I previously mentioned. This opens Android 14's new regional preferences page.
* The home clock on the Clock tab is now centered.
(Credits to @nailsad_eleos from the Google News Telegram group for the screenshots and coverage of the update!)
* A new "weather forecast" toggle when setting an alarm. When the alarm is dismissed, the Clock app will show you the weather forecast for the day.
* A new "alarm sync" option in settings. This features syncs alarms between your phone and your Pixel Watch. This works on the Pixel Watch 2 running Wear OS 4 as well as the first-gen Pixel Watch running Wear OS 3 after you update the Google Clock app on the watch.
* A new "change temperature units" item if you've set up the "local weather on clock" feature I previously mentioned. This opens Android 14's new regional preferences page.
* The home clock on the Clock tab is now centered.
(Credits to @nailsad_eleos from the Google News Telegram group for the screenshots and coverage of the update!)
Xiaomi's Android-based operating system will have a new name: HyperOS.
HyperOS will debut on the upcoming Xiaomi 14 series, and it'll likely be based on Android 14. MIUI has been around since 2010, so this is a major branding update.
According to Xiaomi tipster Kacper Skrzypek, HyperOS seems to be referred to as MIUI 15 internally. We'll apparently be getting an iOS-like lockscreen editor and many other changes, resulting in this update being "the biggest since MIUI 12" in his words.
What do y'all think of the new name?
HyperOS will debut on the upcoming Xiaomi 14 series, and it'll likely be based on Android 14. MIUI has been around since 2010, so this is a major branding update.
According to Xiaomi tipster Kacper Skrzypek, HyperOS seems to be referred to as MIUI 15 internally. We'll apparently be getting an iOS-like lockscreen editor and many other changes, resulting in this update being "the biggest since MIUI 12" in his words.
What do y'all think of the new name?
Android is adding native support for repair mode, a feature that "creates a secure environment to protect the user's privacy when the device is being repaired."
Basically, repair mode lets you send your device in for repair without having to wipe it beforehand. When the device is in repair mode, technicians won't have access to any of your personal apps or data.
Android's repair mode uses the Dynamic System Updates (DSU) mechanism, but instead of booting a Generic System Image (GSI), Android uses the original system image combined with a new userdata image, effectively simulating a factory reset.
When entering repair mode, the user's lockscreen credential is requested. This credential is stored in /metadata/repair-mode and persists across reboots. In order to exit repair mode and return to normal mode, the lockscreen credential that the user enrolled in normal mode must be entered.
Support for repair mode was just merged to AOSP the other day, though the config that enables support for it is disabled by default "since OEMs may have had a similar feature on their devices." Samsung, for example, offers a similar feature called "Maintenance Mode" in One UI.
Two things that are missing from AOSP currently are settings integration and an app to trigger the repair mode flow. The former is already present in the Pixel's Android 14 QPR1 beta builds, while the latter is not available yet.
Basically, repair mode lets you send your device in for repair without having to wipe it beforehand. When the device is in repair mode, technicians won't have access to any of your personal apps or data.
Android's repair mode uses the Dynamic System Updates (DSU) mechanism, but instead of booting a Generic System Image (GSI), Android uses the original system image combined with a new userdata image, effectively simulating a factory reset.
When entering repair mode, the user's lockscreen credential is requested. This credential is stored in /metadata/repair-mode and persists across reboots. In order to exit repair mode and return to normal mode, the lockscreen credential that the user enrolled in normal mode must be entered.
Support for repair mode was just merged to AOSP the other day, though the config that enables support for it is disabled by default "since OEMs may have had a similar feature on their devices." Samsung, for example, offers a similar feature called "Maintenance Mode" in One UI.
Two things that are missing from AOSP currently are settings integration and an app to trigger the repair mode flow. The former is already present in the Pixel's Android 14 QPR1 beta builds, while the latter is not available yet.