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Posted by Dave Burke, VP of Engineering
Right this moment we’re releasing Android 14 and pushing the Android 14 supply to the Android Open Supply Challenge (AOSP). Android 14 is designed to enhance your productiveness as builders whereas enhancing efficiency, privateness, safety, and customization for customers.
Android 14 is rolling out to pick Pixel units beginning in the present day, and can be accessible later this 12 months on a few of your favourite units from Samsung Galaxy, iQOO, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, vivo and Xiaomi.
Thanks for taking the time to take Android 14 for an early spin although our developer preview and beta applications, sharing your suggestions, and ensuring your apps ship an amazing expertise on Android 14. Making Android work nicely for every one of many billions of Android customers is a collaborative course of between us, Android {hardware} producers, and also you, our developer group.
This put up covers a collection of Android 14 modifications which have essentially the most developer affect. For a whole checklist of the entire Android 14 modifications, go to the Android 14 developer website.
Efficiency and Effectivity
A giant focus of Android 14 was on bettering the efficiency and effectivity of the platform.
Freezing cached purposes
Previous to Android 14, cached purposes have been allowed to run considerably unconstrained. In Android 14, we freeze cached purposes after a brief time frame, giving them 0 CPU time. In Android 14 Beta populations, we see that cached processes eat as much as 50% much less CPU cycles as in comparison with Android 13 public units. Thus, background work is disallowed exterior of standard Android app lifecycle APIs akin to foreground providers, JobScheduler, or WorkManager.
Optimized broadcasts
To maintain frozen purposes frozen longer (i.e. not get CPU time), we adjusted how apps obtain context-registered broadcasts as soon as they go right into a cached state; they could be queued, and repeating ones, akin to BATTERY_CHANGED, could also be merged into one broadcast.
Quicker app launches
With cached app and broadcast optimizations In Android 14, we have been in a position to improve long-standing limits on the utmost variety of cached purposes within the platform, resulting in a discount in chilly app begins that scales by the RAM current on the system. On 8GB units, the beta group noticed 20% fewer chilly app begins, and on 12GB units it was over 30% fewer. Chilly startups are sluggish in comparison with heat startups and they’re costly by way of energy. This work successfully improves each energy utilization and general app startup occasions.
Lowered reminiscence footprint
Enhancing the Android Runtime (ART) has a big impact on the Android user-experience. Code dimension is without doubt one of the key metrics we have a look at; smaller generated recordsdata are higher for reminiscence (each RAM and storage). In Android 14, ART contains optimizations that scale back code dimension by a mean of 9.3% with out impacting efficiency.
Customization
Customization is on the core of Android’s DNA, and Android 14 continues our dedication to enabling Android customers to tune their expertise round their particular person wants, together with enhanced accessibility and internationalization options.
Greater fonts with non-linear scaling – Beginning in Android 14, customers will have the ability to scale up their font to 200%. Beforehand, the utmost font dimension scale on Pixel units was 130%. A non-linear font scaling curve is robotically utilized to make sure that textual content that’s already massive sufficient doesn’t improve on the similar price as smaller textual content. Study extra right here.
Per-app language preferences – You possibly can dynamically replace your app’s localeConfig with LocaleManager.setOverrideLocaleConfig to customise the set of languages displayed within the per-app language checklist in Android Settings. IMEs can now use LocaleManager.getApplicationLocales to know the UI language of the present app to replace the keyboard language. Beginning with Android Studio Giraffe and AGP 8.1, you possibly can configure your app to help Android 13’s per-app language preferences robotically.
Regional preferences – Regional preferences allow customers to personalize temperature models, the primary day of the week, and numbering methods.
Grammatical Inflection – The Grammatical Inflection API lets you extra simply add help for customers who converse languages which have grammatical gender. To point out customized translations, you simply want so as to add translations inflected for every grammatical gender for impacted languages and combine the API.
New media capabilities
Extremely HDR for pictures – Android 14 provides help for 10-bit excessive dynamic vary (HDR) pictures, with help for the Extremely HDR picture format. The format is absolutely backward-compatible with JPEG, permitting apps to seamlessly interoperate with HDR pictures.
Zoom, Focus, Postview, and extra in Digicam Extensions – Android 14 upgrades and improves Digicam Extensions, permitting apps to deal with longer processing occasions, enabling improved pictures utilizing compute-intensive algorithms like low-light images on supported units.
Lossless USB audio – Android 14 units can help lossless audio codecs for audiophile-level experiences over USB wired headsets.
New graphics capabilities
Customized meshes with vertex and fragment shaders – Android 14 provides help for customized meshes, which might be outlined as triangles or triangle strips, and might, optionally, be listed. These meshes are specified with customized attributes, vertex strides, various, and vertex/fragment shaders written in AGSL.
{Hardware} buffer renderer for Canvas – Android 14 introduces HardwareBufferRenderer to help in utilizing Android’s Canvas API to attract with {hardware} acceleration right into a HardwareBuffer, which is especially useful when your use case includes communication with the system compositor by SurfaceControl for low-latency drawing.
Growing throughout type elements
Android 14 builds on the work carried out in Android 12L and 13 to help tablets and foldable type elements together with a taskbar supporting enhanced multitasking, large-screen optimized system apps and notification UI, exercise embedding, enhanced letterboxing, improved media projection, and extra. Our app high quality steering for giant screens together with extra studying alternatives round constructing for giant screens and foldables may also help optimize your app throughout all Android surfaces, whereas the massive display gallery comprises design patterns and inspiration for social and communications, media, productiveness, buying, and studying apps.
Enhancing your productiveness
Android 14 comprises many updates centered on making your growth expertise extra constant, enjoyable, and productive. Many of those updates are being made accessible on older platform releases utilizing a mixture of Google Play system updates, Jetpack libraries, and Google Play providers, so you possibly can attain extra customers with them.
OpenJDK 17 Help – Because of Google Play system updates (Challenge Mainline), over 600M units are enabled to obtain the newest Android Runtime (ART) updates that ship with Android 14. Study extra right here.
Credential Supervisor and Passkeys help – Credential Supervisor is a brand new Jetpack API that helps a number of sign-in strategies, akin to username and password, passkeys, and federated sign-in options (akin to Signal-in with Google) in a single API, simplifying your integration. Utilizing Google Play providers, Credential Supervisor is supported again to Android 4.4 (API stage 19). Learn extra right here.
Well being Join – Well being Join is a person managed on-device repository for person well being and health information that makes it simpler than ever to help an built-in well being and health expertise throughout apps and linked units. Well being Join is a part of the Android platform and receives updates by way of Google Play system updates with out requiring a separate obtain, and is out there to older units as an app on the Google Play retailer. Examine Well being Join and extra in What’s new in Android Well being.
Superior system sharesheets – To make it simple to present your app’s customers a wealthy, constant, sharing expertise, the system sharesheets in Android 14 are configurable with customized actions and improved rating.
Extra constant and dependable foreground providers– We have collaborated with {hardware} producers akin to Samsung to create each a extra constant developer expertise and a extra dependable person expertise. To this finish, Android 14 has a brand new requirement to declare foreground service varieties and request type-specific permissions and now we have Google Play insurance policies to implement acceptable use of those APIs. We have additionally added a brand new user-initiated information switch job sort, making the expertise of managing massive user-initiated uploads and downloads smoother by leveraging JobScheduler’s constraints (e.g. community constraints akin to unmetered WiFi).
Person expertise
Predictive Again – Android 14 introduces new Predictive Again system animations – cross-activity and cross-task – to hitch the back-to-home animation launched in Android 13. The system animations stay behind a developer choice to permit time for extra polish and for extra apps to opt-into Predictive Again; Materials and Jetpack Predictive Again animations can be found to customers in the present day.
Privateness and safety
Knowledge sharing updates – Customers will see a brand new part within the location runtime permission dialog that highlights when an app shares location information with third events, the place they’ll get extra info and management the app’s information entry.
Partial entry to pictures and movies – When your app concentrating on SDK 34 requests any of the visible media permissions launched in SDK 33 (READ_MEDIA_IMAGES / READ_MEDIA_VIDEO), Android 14 customers can now grant your app entry to solely chosen pictures and movies. To adapt your app to this variation, we suggest following our current greatest practices.
Background exercise launching – Android 10 (API stage 29) and better place restrictions on when apps can begin actions when operating within the background. To additional scale back situations of surprising interruptions, apps concentrating on Android 14 must grant privileges to begin actions within the background when sending a PendingIntent or when binding a service.
Block set up of apps concentrating on older SDK variations – To guard towards malware that targets older API ranges to bypass safety and privateness protections, apps with a targetSdkVersion decrease than 23 can’t be put in on Android 14.
Runtime receivers – Apps concentrating on Android 14 should point out if dynamic Context.registerReceiver() utilization must be handled as “exported” or “unexported”, a continuation of the manifest-level work from earlier releases. Study extra right here.
Safe full display Intent notifications – Since full-screen intent notifications are designed for very high-priority notifications demanding the person’s quick consideration, Android 14 limits the apps granted this permission on app set up to people who present calling and alarms solely. Your app can now launch the settings web page the place customers can grant the permission.
Safer dynamic code loading – Apps concentrating on Android 14 require dynamically loaded recordsdata to be marked as read-only. Study extra right here.
Safer implicit intents – For apps concentrating on Android 14, making a mutable pending intent with an implicit intent will throw an exception, stopping them from with the ability to be used to set off surprising code paths. Apps must both make the pending intent immutable or make the intent express. Study extra right here.
App compatibility
We’re working to make updates sooner and smoother with every platform launch by prioritizing app compatibility. In Android 14 we’ve made most app-facing modifications opt-in till your app targets SDK model 34 to present you extra time to make any needed app modifications, and we’ve up to date our instruments and processes that will help you prepare sooner.
Simpler testing and debugging of modifications – To make it simpler so that you can take a look at the opt-in modifications that may have an effect on your app, we’ll make a lot of them toggleable once more this 12 months. With the toggles, you possibly can force-enable or disable the modifications individually from Developer choices or adb. Take a look at the small print right here.
Get your apps, libraries, instruments, and sport engines prepared!
Now’s the time to complete your ultimate compatibility testing and publish any needed updates to make sure a easy app expertise.
In the event you develop an SDK, library, software, or sport engine, it is much more vital to launch any needed updates now to stop your downstream app and sport builders from being blocked by compatibility points and permit them to focus on the newest SDK options. Please ensure to let your builders know if updates are wanted to completely help Android 14.
Testing your app includes putting in your manufacturing app onto a tool operating Android 14; you need to use Google Play or different means. Work by all of the app’s flows and search for useful or UI points. Evaluation the conduct modifications to focus your testing. Every launch of Android comprises modifications to the platform that enhance privateness, safety, and the general person expertise, and these modifications can have an effect on your apps. Listed below are some prime modifications to check:
Keep in mind to train libraries and SDKs that your app is utilizing in your compatibility testing. You could must replace to present SDK variations or attain out to the developer for assist.
When you’ve revealed the appropriate model of your present app, you can begin the course of to replace your app’s targetSdkVersion. Evaluation the conduct modifications that apply when your app targets Android 14 and use the compatibility framework to assist detect points rapidly.
Get began with Android 14
If in case you have a supported Pixel system, and usually are not enrolled within the Android Beta program, you’ll obtain the general public Android 14 OTA replace because it turns into accessible (it could take per week or longer as this can be a phased rollout depending on system sort and service). If you’re at present enrolled within the Android Beta program operating Android 14, you seemingly have obtained and put in the beta of the subsequent Android 14 quarterly platform launch (QPR1).
System pictures for Pixel units are accessible right here for guide obtain and flash, and you may get the newest 64-bit Android Emulator system pictures by way of the Android Studio SDK Supervisor. In the event you’re on the lookout for the Android 14 supply, you will discover it right here within the Android Open Supply Challenge repository beneath the Android 14 branches.
For the very best growth expertise with Android 14, we suggest that you simply use the newest launch of Android Studio Hedgehog. When you’re arrange, listed below are among the issues it’s best to do:
- Strive the brand new options and APIs. Report points in our tracker on the suggestions web page.
- Check your present app for compatibility – be taught whether or not your app is affected by default conduct modifications in Android 14. Set up your app onto a tool or emulator operating Android 14 and extensively take a look at it.
- Check your app with opt-in modifications – Android 14 has opt-in conduct modifications that solely have an effect on your app when it’s concentrating on the brand new platform. It’s vital to grasp and assess these modifications early. To make it simpler to check, you possibly can toggle the modifications on and off individually.
- Replace your app with the Android SDK Improve Assistant – Android Studio Hedgehog now filters and identifies the particular Android 14 API modifications which might be related to your app, and walks you thru the steps to improve your targetSdkVersion with the Android SDK Improve Assistant.
Thanks once more for collaborating in our Android developer preview and beta program! We’re trying ahead to seeing how your apps make the most of the updates in Android 14.
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