Are you an Android developer eagerly awaiting the next big update? Well, your wait is over with the arrival of Android 14! This latest version of the Android operating system, known as Upside Down Cake, brings a plethora of exciting features, promising to revolutionize app design and development. In this article, we will explore Android 14 from a developer’s perspective, diving deep into its innovative features, the impact on app design, and the best practices for leveraging its powerful capabilities.

Minimum Android Studio Version required: Android Studio Flamingo | 2022.2.1 or higher.

What’s New in Android 14?

Android 14 brings a host of new features and updates for developers to take advantage of. Let’s dive into some of the most significant changes.

Performance and Efficiency

Freezing cached applications

Android 14 introduced several restrictions on the use of cached applications. After a brief interval, we freeze cached apps on Android 14, giving them no CPU time. Cache-based programmes use up to 50% fewer CPU cycles in Android 14 Beta populations when compared to Android 13 public devices. Therefore, outside of standard Android app lifecycle APIs like foreground services, JobScheduler, or WorkManager, background work is prohibited.

Optimized broadcasts

We changed how apps get context-registered broadcasts once they enter a cached state; they may be queued, and recurring ones, like BATTERY_CHANGED, may be combined into a single broadcast, in order to keep frozen applications frozen longer (i.e., not receive CPU time).

Faster app launches

With broadcast optimizations and cached apps, we were able to raise the platform’s long-standing caps on the maximum number of cached apps in Android 14, which decreased the number of cold app starts, which is based on the RAM capacity of the device. The beta group experienced 20% fewer cold app starts on 8GB devices and nearly 30% fewer on 12GB devices. In comparison to warm companies, cold startups are slower and require more electricity. This approach effectively reduces total programme starting times as well as battery consumption.

Reduced memory footprint

The Android user experience can be greatly enhanced by improving the Android Runtime (ART). One of the most important metrics we consider is code size; smaller generated files are better for memory (RAM and storage). With no degradation in speed, Android 14’s ART optimizations lower code size by an average of 9.3%.

Customization

Since customization is fundamental to the Android experience, Android 14 maintains our promise to empower users to tailor their experience to meet their unique requirements. This includes improved accessibility and internationalization tools.

Bigger fonts with non-linear scaling: With Android 14, users will be able to magnify text by 200%. The maximum text size scale for Pixel devices used to be 130%. A non-linear font scaling curve is automatically applied to text that is large enough to keep it from increasing at the same rate as smaller text. Learn more here.

Per-app language preferences: You can dynamically update your app’s localeConfig with LocaleManager.setOverrideLocaleConfig to customize the set of languages displayed in the per-app language list in Android Settings.

IMEs can now use LocaleManager.getApplicationLocales to know the UI language of the current app to update the keyboard language. Starting with Android Studio Giraffe and AGP 8.1, you can configure your app to support Android 13’s per-app language preferences automatically.

Regional preferences: Users can customize temperature units, the first day of the week, and numerical systems based on their regional preferences.

Grammatical Inflection: You may add support for users who speak languages with grammatical gender more quickly thanks to the Grammatical Inflection API. All you have to do to display customized translations is incorporate the API and add translations that are inflected for every grammatical gender in the languages that are affected.

New media capabilities

Ultra HDR for images: With support for the Ultra HDR image format, Android 14 adds support for 10-bit high dynamic range (HDR) photographs. Because of the format’s complete backward compatibility with JPEG, programmes can work with HDR photographs with ease.

Zoom, Focus, Postview, and more in Camera Extensions: With Android 14, Camera Extensions are enhanced and expanded, enabling apps to manage longer processing times and, on compatible devices, better photographs through the use of compute-intensive algorithms like low-light photography.

Lossless USB audio: Lossless audio formats are supported on Android 14 devices, enabling audiophile-quality experiences when using USB-wired headsets.

New graphics capabilities

Custom meshes with vertex and fragment shaders: Custom meshes, which are defined as triangles or triangle strips and may optionally be indexed, are now supported by Android 14. Custom properties, vertex strides, variables, and AGSL-written vertex/fragment shaders are used to specify these meshes.

Hardware buffer renderer for Canvas: In Android 14, HardwareBufferRenderer is introduced to help with drawing with hardware acceleration into a HardwareBuffer using Android’s Canvas API. This is especially useful if your use case involves low-latency drawing through SurfaceControl communication with the system compositor.

User experience

Predictive Back: In addition to the back-to-home animation seen in Android 13, Android 14 brings two additional Predictive Back system animations: cross-activity and cross-task. To give more time for refinement and to let more apps choose to use Predictive Back, the system animations are still hidden behind a developer option. However, users can now access Material and Jetpack Predictive Back animations.

Privacy and security

Data sharing updates: When an app shares location data with third parties, users will see a new section in the location runtime permission dialogue where they can manage the app’s data access and obtain further information.

Partial access to photos and videos: Android 14 users can now allow your app access to only specific images and videos when it asks any of the visual media permissions (READ_MEDIA_IMAGES / READ_MEDIA_VIDEO) introduced in SDK 33. We advise using our most recent best practices to modify your app in light of this update.

App compatibility

Android prioritizes app compatibility to make updates faster and more seamless with each platform release. To offer you more time to make any necessary app modifications, we’ve made the majority of changes to Android 14 opt-in until your app targets SDK version 34. We’ve also improved our tools and processes to help you get ready sooner.

Easier testing and debugging of changes: This year, Android will make many opt-in modifications toggleable once more to make it easier for you to test the changes before they impact your app. You can use the toggles in Developer settings or adb to individually force-enable or deactivate the changes. See the information on this link.

How to Get Started with Android 14?

For the best development experience with Android 14, we recommend that you use the latest release of Android Studio Hedgehog. Once you’re set-up, here are some of the things you should do:

Try the new features and APIs. Report issues in our tracker on the feedback page.
Test your current app for compatibility – learn whether your app is affected by default behavior changes in Android 14. Install your app onto a device or emulator running Android 14 and extensively test it.
Test your app with opt-in changes – Android 14 has opt-in behavior changes that only affect your app when it’s targeting the new platform. It’s important to understand and assess these changes early. To make it easier to test, you can toggle the changes on and off individually.
Update your app with the Android SDK Upgrade Assistant – Android Studio Hedgehog now filters and identifies the specific Android 14 API changes that are relevant to your app, and walks you through the steps to upgrade your targetSdkVersion with the Android SDK Upgrade Assistant.

Conclusion

Android 14 is offering an array of new features and improvements that can elevate app design and development to new heights and ensure your app is compatible and provides a great user experience. By embracing the customization options, developers can adapt their apps to meet the ever-changing preferences and needs of users creating more engaging and user-friendly applications.

Reference taken from: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2023/10/android-14-is-live-in-aosp.html

https://developer.android.com/about/versions/14/summary

https://developer.android.com/about/versions/14/behavior-changes-14

About the Author:

Anand Singh is currently working with Mantra Labs as a Tech Manager. He has a strong knowledge of mobile development.

In the world of product design, consistency is the cornerstone of delivering a seamless user experience. As digital products evolve and scale, the challenge of maintaining design consistency across multiple platforms, teams, and touchpoints becomes more complex. This is where design systems come in. A design system is a comprehensive set of guidelines, components, and tools that help designers and developers create a consistent and cohesive user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). From a designer’s perspective, building and maintaining a design system requires a strategic approach to ensure scalability, flexibility, and alignment with business goals.

Source: https://www.toptal.com/designers/ux/design-system)

Why Design Systems Matter?

Design systems are more than just style guides or pattern libraries. They offer a unified language for design and development, bridging the gap between creativity and functionality. Here are a few reasons why they are critical:

Consistency Across Products

One of the primary goals of a design system is to ensure uniformity across different platforms and devices. When users interact with a product, whether on a website or a mobile app, they expect a consistent experience. A well-implemented design system ensures that visual elements, interactions, and behaviors are aligned, offering a familiar and intuitive experience for users.

2. Faster Iteration

With a design system in place, teams can reuse components and patterns rather than reinventing the wheel for each new feature. This speeds up the design and development process, allowing teams to focus on solving new problems instead of reworking existing designs. For designers, it means less time spent on repetitive tasks and more time dedicated to innovation.

3. Scalability

As products grow and new features are added, maintaining a coherent UI/UX without a design system can become chaotic. A design system provides a scalable framework, enabling teams to add new elements or modules without compromising the overall consistency of the product.

4. Improved Collaboration

A design system fosters collaboration between designers, developers, and other stakeholders by providing a shared language and reference point. This ensures that design decisions are communicated effectively, reducing friction and misunderstandings between teams.

Building a Design System: A Designer’s Perspective

Designing a system from scratch can seem like a daunting task, but with a clear roadmap and understanding of core principles, it becomes a powerful tool for creating scalable and user-centered products.

1. Define the Core Principles

Before diving into visual components, it’s essential to establish the core principles of your design system. These principles serve as the foundation and guide decision-making throughout the process. Ask yourself:

• What are the key values of your brand?

• How should the design reflect the needs and emotions of users?

• What goals are you trying to achieve with your design system (e.g., accessibility, flexibility, innovation)?

For instance, if accessibility is a top priority, you’ll need to ensure that your design system accommodates users with different abilities, by providing color contrast guidelines, clear typographic hierarchies, and accessible components.

2. Create a Unified Visual Language

Once the principles are established, the next step is creating a cohesive visual language. This includes defining elements such as:

• Color Palette: A well-structured color palette ensures harmony across different UI components. It’s crucial to include primary, secondary, and accent colors, along with usage guidelines to avoid inconsistency.

• Typography: Define a typography system that establishes hierarchies and clarity, including font styles, sizes, line heights, and spacing. Consistent typography helps users navigate content effortlessly.

• Spacing and Grids: An established grid system ensures a balanced layout and harmony between different UI elements. Proper spacing guidelines prevent crowded or misaligned components.

• Iconography and Illustrations: Design guidelines for icons and illustrations help maintain visual consistency. Icons should follow a standard style (outlined, filled) and size, ensuring they align with the overall visual language.

Iconography and Illustrations: Design guidelines for icons and illustrations help maintain visual consistency. Icons should follow a standard style (outlined, filled) and size, ensuring they align with the overall visual language.

Image Source: https://designerup.co/blog/10-best-design-systems-and-how-to-learn-and-steal-from-them/)

3. Design Reusable Components

A design system is incomplete without reusable UI components. These components include buttons, forms, modals, and navigation elements that can be used across various features and pages. Each component should be:

• Modular: Components should be flexible and adaptable for different contexts. For example, a button should have variations for different states (hover, active, disabled) and types (primary, secondary, destructive).

• Documented: Each component needs comprehensive documentation that explains how it should be used, its variants, and the rules governing its application. This ensures consistency when different team members use the same component.

4. Implement Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility should be at the forefront of every design system. As a designer, consider:

• Color Contrast: Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background for readability.

• Keyboard Navigation: Ensure that interactive components are navigable via keyboard for users who rely on keyboard shortcuts.

• Responsive Design: Components should be responsive, adapting seamlessly across different screen sizes and devices.

• Assistive Technologies: Design components should be compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies to provide an inclusive experience.

Maintaining a Design System: Evolving with the Product

Once a design system is in place, the work doesn’t stop there. Maintaining it requires ongoing effort as the product evolves and new design challenges emerge. Here’s how designers can ensure the design system remains relevant and effective:

1. Regular Audits and Updates

A design system should be treated as a living document that evolves with the product. Regular audits are necessary to identify outdated or unused components. Designers should collaborate with developers to ensure new features are aligned with the existing design system, and updates should be documented to avoid fragmentation.

2. Version Control and Documentation

Version control is essential for keeping track of changes in the design system. Documenting why and how changes are made ensures that the design system grows in an organized manner. It also helps onboard new team members quickly, as they can reference updated guidelines.

3. Foster Collaboration Across Teams

Designers need to maintain an open line of communication with developers and other teams using the design system. Tools like Figma, Sketch, and Zeplin allow designers to share components and guidelines in real-time, fostering collaboration and ensuring that everyone is aligned.

Some well-known examples of design systems that have set benchmarks in the industry:

1. Google Material Design

URL: Material Design
Overview: Google’s Material Design is one of the most comprehensive design systems available. It provides guidelines on how to create visual, motion, and interaction design across platforms and devices. Material Design is known for its grid-based layouts, responsive animations, and depth effects like shadows and lighting.
Features:
- Comprehensive color palettes, typography, and iconography.
- Extensive component library (buttons, cards, etc.).
- Customizable UI components for both web and mobile applications.

2. Salesforce Lightning Design System

URL: Salesforce Lightning
Overview: Salesforce’s Lightning Design System provides a comprehensive library of UI components and resources to help build applications on the Salesforce platform. It ensures a consistent experience across Salesforce products and enables developers to create custom apps easily.
Features:
- Ready-to-use components, design tokens, and code snippets.
- Comprehensive accessibility guidelines to ensure inclusivity.
- Detailed documentation for developers to integrate components into Salesforce applications.

3. Microsoft Fluent Design System

URL: Fluent Design
Overview: Fluent Design is Microsoft’s design system, created to provide an engaging and scalable UI across all Microsoft products. It is heavily focused on interaction, animation, and motion while ensuring accessibility across various device ecosystems.
Features:
- Focus on depth, motion, and light to create modern and interactive UIs.
- Cross-platform components supporting web, desktop, and mobile applications.
- Accessible components with detailed guidelines for developers.

Conclusion

Building and maintaining a design system is an investment that pays off in the long run. It ensures consistency across your product, improves collaboration between teams, and allows for faster iteration and scalability. For designers, a design system is more than a collection of reusable components — it’s a framework that enables you to create user-centric products with confidence and clarity. By embracing modularity, documentation, and accessibility, you’ll ensure that your design system remains a valuable asset as your product grows.

About the Author:

Shristi is a creative professional with a passion for visual storytelling. She recently transitioned from the world of video and motion graphics to the exciting field of product design at Mantra Labs. When she’s not designing, she enjoys watching movies, traveling, and sharing her experiences through vlogs.

Android 14: Unlocking New Possibilities for Developers

What’s New in Android 14?