With the release of Android 14 DP2 several news have emerged regarding what Google intends to bring to Android smartphones, but it seems that the most interesting ones are hidden under the hood and closely relate to the user experience on Android devices with large displays just like those of Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet.
Colleagues from have taken care of finding the latest news 9to5Google and other developers, who have performed an in-depth analysis of the latest Android 14 DP2 and have thus found many references to the upcoming functions, such as confirmation that the Pixel Fold should support the unlocking system based on facial recognition. But let’s see the other news:
DESKTOP MODE IMPROVEMENTS
One of the least anticipated improvements, but undoubtedly very interesting, concerns the update of the Android 14 desktop mode, or that interface that Google has designed for using Android with a mouse and keyboard. In this mode, the apps are inserted into floating windows and it is precisely on these that the new features of Android 14 are concentrated.
As we can see from the images shown just below, Google has updated the pill placed at the top of the windows that it introduced on Android 13 QPR2. With the new version, the pill now has a drop-down menu that allows you to access many of the functions that are usually found in the menu of recent apps, such as the possibility of take screenshots, select texts and images and close the application completely.
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 Above the bar on Android 13 QPR2, below how they appear on Android 14 DP2
The other icons also remain, making it easier to manage the app in split screen or switch from floating window to full screen. With these interface improvements, Google seems to confirm its interest in a much more professional use of Android, going to emulate the behavior you would expect to find in a desktop environment. This could undoubtedly be a very useful novelty for the Pixel Tablet, should it provide a desktop interface.
THE OTHER NEWS
Still remaining in the Pixel Tablet area, Android 14 DP2 also hides references to the possibility of Quickly access note creation directly from the lock screen. In reality, the API that takes care of this functionality is much more versatile and could allow third-party app developers to create a series of actions that can be called from the unlock screen, provided that very stringent requirements are met regarding the protection of user privacy.
In practice it will be possible to summon a piece of the app to perform specific functions from the unlock screen, a bit like the camera apps, which can take pictures even with the smartphone unlocked, but to be able to consult the taken ones it is necessary to unlock the device. Similarly, Android 14 could allow Pixel Tablet – for example – to start writing a new note in this way, but to view the previous ones it will be necessary to authenticate.
Finally we point out the reference to dual shades, something that is not described in detail, but which should refer to a new organization of the Quick Settings and the notification curtain. With dual shade it could be possible that Google intends to separate the two functions by offering something similar to the one proposed by iOS with the separation between the two screens of the Control Center and the notification curtain. As hypothesized by 9to5Google, something similar could also arrive on Android 14 that will allow you to call up the right screen based on the position from which you swipe down.
In short, there are many innovations and it seems that Google is aiming to strengthen the Android user experience in various areas. Now it remains to be understood which of these innovations will arrive in the final version of Android 14 or if some of these implementations can already find space on one of the next Android 13 QPRs.
