Android 14 will be released tomorrow, October 4, 2023.
If you perform an update through security settings (Google Play System Update) there is a small update less than 2 MB in size. Reboot and check for updates in the Google Play Store.
These are the final micro updates before Android 14.
Note:
Google Pixel phones, as always, will get the update first. However, like always, updates will be rolled out (location, service provider, ect).
Hello! My smartphone is dying, so I’ll soon have to buy a new one. I’d like my new phone to have pure Android, without all the apps that manufactures install. Ideally I’d like to remove the majority of Google services too, but there are some that I can’t replace yet, so I’m still dependent on, like google maps. What...
Indian smartphone manufacturer 'Lava Mobiles' provides literally stock Android on their every latest phones. Also regular updates on phones regardless of price ! ❤️
My #LG#V60 just got another #android security update. It's not #android14, but considering they stopped making phones I'm still pretty chuffed. Battery life is still at 85-90% too! We lost a real one y'all! #LGv60
I'm using the Pixel Tablet w/Android as a "computer" today, and yeah, it still falls short in a few ways.
For touch-based multitasking, I love the new split view, taskbar, and overall setup. But for a mouse and keyboard, it's not there yet, which, fair, they don't advertise it as a laptop replacement!
For anyone curious, here's what I've found so far (thread). I hope this can help inform some good/bad for people designing adaptive experiences.
Update: Android 14 beta fixes a bunch of things in this thread! So as I suspected, they are actively working on it since Android regressed so much in this area; it looks like they focused on the touch experience above all (which makes sense!), but have a decent round of "desktop" style improvements coming soon. This could point to an accessory ecosystem of keyboards, for one...
Alt+Tab! There's a new UI at the top instead of reusing the multitasking/recents view. This probably makes sense with the more touch-friendly grid of the recents view, now.
The Super key actually works again! Instead of triggering the Assistant, it goes to the home screen (and on the home screen, opens the app drawer/search).
Context menus work better! I can right-click items on the home screen and in the dock.
I don't recall seeing these settings before, but could have missed them. Interestingly, Android calls the "Super" key the "Action" key, but then styles it as a search icon in the UI. Kinda confusing.
But this screen lets you swap the functions of Ctrl, Alt, Caps, and Super which is kinda neat. OS-level workaround for being more familiar with macOS, ChromeOS, or Windows style layouts, independent of keyboard hardware support.
Oh yeah, new mouse cursor! Kinda cute. The I-beam is straight up and down instead of having top/bottom lines; it's fine I guess.
There are some weird behaviors I don't recall from before; sometimes the cursor changes into a pointer when hovering something clickable which goes against what most desktop OSes have been doing for decades... but feels like the web. Idk if I like it. Tooltips are nice, idk if these showed on hover in Android 13.
I'm as excited about the rumors of improved desktop modes and video out support for the Pixel 8 as the next guy, but we've fielded these kinds of rumors before.
Currently the only phone I have that can run an Android 14 beta, AND has video out, just did this using the desktop mode in Android dev settings.
Which is even more broken than the A13 desktop mode, which was already almost nonfunctional from the A12 mode.
I really WANT Google to give us a Pixel 8 with a proper desktop or tablet large screen mode, but I'm not getting my hopes up until we see the phone in action.
I've gotten my hopes up the last couple updates, seeing code that would indicate improvements, but the actual practical experience has gotten WAY WORSE over the last two years.
Desktop modes are a huge perk, so I hope this is the year Google fixes this.
Phones are so ridiculously powerful now, they vastly outpace the actual compute power most families need for daily needs. The only thing holding us back is getting that performance out to devices and accessories to better USE that power.
If we can get a more usable platform for a desktop UI, devs might take apps for mobile and mixed use more seriously.
Smartphones with "pure" Android
Hello! My smartphone is dying, so I’ll soon have to buy a new one. I’d like my new phone to have pure Android, without all the apps that manufactures install. Ideally I’d like to remove the majority of Google services too, but there are some that I can’t replace yet, so I’m still dependent on, like google maps. What...