Android 14 will be the next major OS update from Google. Already available in a preview version for developers, the software had several features discovered in recent days, and on Thursday (09), the staff of 9to5Google found that the iteration prepares improvements to support for physical keyboards and trackpads.
The new version of the software hides an input settings menu that brings new options to customize the experience with keyboards and other peripherals. Items are discoverable in a hidden section by default in Android 14. One of the highlights is the possibility to map different keys into a physical accessory.
As seen in the screenshots above, the system will offer options to modify the behavior of the buttons on a physical keyboard to perform the functions of “Caps Lock”, “Ctrl”, “Alt” and “Meta”. The last one is a common key on Chromebook models that is positioned in the typical Caps Lock place.
Physical keyboards designed for mobile devices, such as tablets, often have a touch-sensitive surface that, in addition to replacing the mouse to control a cursor, recognizes “pinch” gestures to zoom, two-finger swipes to scroll a page, and more. movements that make the use of the device more intuitive and dynamic.
Android 14 seems to enhance this support with new possibilities for gestures to reverse the scrolling direction, control the speed of the cursor on the screen and enable or disable the “tap to click” function. In addition, there will be support for three-finger gestures:
- Swipe left to right with three fingers: this gesture will perform the function of the “Back” button;
- Swipe from bottom to top with three fingers: this gesture will perform the function of the “Home” button and will take the user to the home screen of the cell phone or tablet;
- Swipe from bottom to top with three fingers and hold: this gesture will display all recent and running apps on the device;
- Swipe from top to bottom with three fingers: This gesture will open the device’s notification center.
Finally, tapping a trackpad with four fingers would let you switch between apps quickly. A bottom right tap for “More Options” will also be added. The function of this gesture is unclear, but it will possibly work as a right-click to bring up a context menu.
It’s worth noting that the findings do not necessarily indicate that optimizations for physical keyboards and trackpads will be released together with Android 14. The new version of the system is still at an early stage of development, so there are still many features that must be worked out, and others, postponed to a next generation.
