Google has given developers access to the first preview version of the upcoming Android 14 Preview 1 mobile operating system. As a rule, Google keeps the final set of new features of the OS secret, at least until the I / O conference. However, some new features and functionality are still available in Android 14 Preview 1 and can be talked about.
Previous rumors that Android 14 will block the installation of older apps have been confirmed. As the OS has evolved, there have been new APIs and increased security, privacy, or background processing restrictions. They can break old applications. To avoid this, Android has a backwards compatibility system that keeps these older apps running and doesn’t apply some new features and restrictions to them. This can be used by unscrupulous developers to create applications with the ability to bypass OS restrictions. In Android 14, this loophole will be closed. The operating system will block the installation of applications designed for Android 6.0 or lower. This version introduces a permissions system, and many malicious apps target Android 5.1 to bypass it.
Most users will probably not even notice these new restrictions. The fact is that the Play Store has been operating a system of minimum SDK target levels since 2018. It requires new and updated apps to target a version of Android released a year ago or newer. Thus, now all new and updated applications must be designed for Android version 12 and newer. Old apps that haven’t been updated for a long time can still target older OS versions. But over time, they will gradually disappear from the Play Store. Since last year, Google has begun hiding old apps. Now any app that hasn’t been updated in two years will be hidden from the store.
It also looks like the underlying Android OS will also drop support for older apps every year. Google has provided the ability to bypass the lock if you really need to install an application for Android 6.0 on Android 14. This requires a USB cable, a PC, and the Android Developer SDK installed. You can install the old application using the ADB command line flag – “adb install -bypass-low-target-sdk-block FILENAME.apk”. However, taking into account the requirements, only sufficiently knowledgeable users, and not ordinary consumers, can do this.
Another new feature is “Nonlinear Font Scaling”. The idea is that a small font will scale more noticeably than a large font. Previously, linear scaling enlarged all fonts equally, including large ones. However, Google is increasing the font size limit from 130% to 200%.
Google has also implemented changes related to “optimizing background work”, although there are no details on this yet. Additionally, Android is being updated to OpenJDK 17 and Google says it is “working hard to fully enable Java 17 language features in upcoming developer previews.”
Android 14 Preview 1 builds are available on the Android Developer site for Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7, Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel 5, or Pixel 4a (5G) smartphones.
Source: arstechnica
