Google's monthly Pixel update might be missing in action — despite a changelog leak leaving very little to the imagination — but the ongoing Android 14 developer previews are, thankfully, right on schedule. Android 14 DP2 is here, just as predicted by Google's outlined plans, giving us one more build before the usual open beta period begins sometime in April. As with last month's update, DP2 prioritizes app behaviors and compatibility over new features and enhancements, along with some long-in-the-works improvements to privacy, security, and system health.
With today's update, Google is highlighting a handful of new features worthy of attention from devs and users alike. First up is a major tweak to how the Photo Picker works on Android. With Android 13 — and backwards compatible to Android 4.4 — applications that supported this function allowed users to manually select images to be used within the app, all without having to accept or deny a permissions prompt. Starting with Android 14, the Photo Picker first added in last year's OS release is, effectively, no longer optional.
If you followed along with all of our coverage from Android 14 DP1, this change shouldn't come as much of a surprise, as Google had the infrastructure for this function ready to go from the jump. Basically, any app that doesn't support the permissionless Photo Picker UI will now ask the end user to give access to all images, some images, or to deny media permissions completely. It's an experience that iOS users are all too familiar with — Google's prompt even looks nearly identical — and it's one that should provide a massive privacy boost when it arrives with the launch of Android 14 this spring.
Carrying on that theme of boosted security, Google is continuing to build its new Credential Manager API into Android 14, with support reaching all the way back to Android 4.4. The company debuted this feature last month in alpha with full support for any account info stored with your Google ID. It's a gateway into our passwordless future, and with DP2, we're also seeing a refined UI for Google's account selector.
Android 14's latest build also focuses on improved system performance, with new enhancements for memory management and notifications. DP2 disallows cached apps to run in the background outside of specific lifecycle APIs faster than Android 13, which Google says should improve battery life and resource usage. The company is also promising fewer non-dismissible notifications, as users can now swipe away notifications flagged as an ongoing event whenever a device is unlocked.
Meanwhile, Google is working to build on its per-device language settings with new centralized options for regional preferences. It'll allow anyone traveling to set specific temperature units, numbering systems, and the first day of the week, even outside their home country. Rather than having to change all of these settings through individual apps, this page gives users one place to tweak them throughout the entire OS via multiple APIs. This change was initially spotted hidden behind a flag within DP1, but it should be ready to go in today's update.
We're bound to discover all sorts of additional secrets over the coming days, but if you'd rather see the changes for yourself, Android 14 DP2 is up and ready for installation. Those running on DP1 should get an OTA update today, but you can also find the factory images and OTA files on Google's dev website. Just like last time, this OS upgrade is available for the Pixel 4a 5G and all newer Pixel devices.
As always, we don't recommend running Android 14's developer previews on your daily driver. Those with only one smartphone are better off waiting for the beta period next month. If you're just getting started, make sure to check out our guide on how to install the Android developer previews.