Google releases stable Android 14 for Pixel phones, rolling out to more devices soon

After launching the developer preview back in February and announced with the Pixel 8 yesterday, Google has released Android 14 for Pixel phones with more devices expected to begin receiving the update later this year.

The Android 14 update brings with it a host of new features, as well as improvements to security & privacy, customisation and even accessibility. 

Customisation

The most obvious feature for many will be the new customisation features in Android 14 with the top features being the new Lock Screen customisation, monochromatic theme, easier access to change wallpapers and colours and AI generated wallpapers – and your photo and camera quality will improve with Ultra HDR support. 

The new Lock Screen customisation options allow you to set new lock screen shortcuts, change the layout of your lock screen with curated lock screen templates offering the option to change fonts, widgets, colours and formats, or even choose a different clock. 

AI will also be able to help in a range of situations including making your weather widget on the lockscreen more prominent if the weather suddenly takes a turn for the worse.

For those who prefer a more staid look, there’s also a new monochromatic system theme to tone down the brighter, more colourful look of Android. 

The style picker for wallpapers and the Material You theming is also getting a refresh, making it easier to switch between themes to customise your phone’s look and feel.

Privacy and Security

In the wake of breaches, keeping our personal data secure has become more of a pressing issue and Google is addressing this in Android 14 with more improvements to storing your health and fitness data, sharing data to third parties, media access and even stronger pin codes.  

Google is introducing Health Connect as a way to keep your personal health data more private. Health and fitness data will be stored on-device, including data from third parties like Oura, Peloton and Whoop.

Of course apps do share your data with your permission, but in Android 14 you’ll be notified if an app starts sharing data like your location with third parties, and you can remove permission if you decide you don’t want that.

You’ll also be able to limit access to your media, with Android 14 giving access to only selected photos and videos, not your entire gallery. 

For anyone who has wanted more secure pin entry to their phone, you can now set a 6-digit pin – and you no longer have to hit enter, it’ll just unlock your device if the pin is correct. 

Lastly, Google is also doing behind the scenes security updates meaning that any malicious apps that manage to get onto your phone will no longer be able to exploit security holes in older apps, with Android 14 blocking older versions of their APIs.

Accessibility

Google has been building more accessibility features into Android over time, and Android 14 brings more improvements for hearing accessibility and low-vision users. 

Google has improved their screen magnifier with the ability to pinch to zoom in and out from 100%. There’s also a new Magnifier Settings panel which will allow you to customise the magnifier size and how much of the screen you’d like magnified.

Google will also now make it easier to  quickly change the font size of the text on your device with Android 14’s font size Quick Settings tile.

There’s also improvements for hearing accessibility with support for flashing notifications, as well as more support for users with hearing aids. 

The new hearing aid support gives you more ways to connect and interact with hearing aids including a new setup flow in the Accessibility settings and an easier way to select different outputs for audio including the ability to quickly access hearing aids controls from a shortcut.

Availability

The Android 14 update is available today for owners of the Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet.

To check if the update is available on your Pixel you can go to System > System update to check for the update.

If you’re not a Pixel owner, Google has said that the Samsung Galaxy, iQOO, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, vivo and Xiaomi will begin rolling out their updates later this year.