#Android14_DP1
There is a new separate settings page under Settings > Accessibility > Hearing devices.

Previously, when you clicked this item you were immediately taken to the pair new device page. Now you have the ability to enable a shortcut to these settings and a new option "Hearing aid compatibility" which improves the audio for some devices. This page is now hidden behind a flag.

Google News | En

#Android14_DP1
Android 14 adds a new feature called "Advanced Memory Protection" in beta.

It "helps you protect your device from bugs that may put your security at risk". Under the hood, this feature includes the Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) on Arm v8.5+ compatible devices. MTE is a mandatory hardware feature on Arm v9 processors that protects against memory safety bugs by providing detailed information about memory violations.

It's worth noting the Tensor G2 chipset in the Google Pixel 7 uses Arm v8.2 processor cores, so it do not supports MTE. It looks like the Google Pixel 8 will use the new Arm v9 processor cores.

Source: Mishaal Rahman on XDA resource

Google News | En

Google Photos will soon allow you to back up photos from your Locked Folder.

The Locked Folder is a password-protected place where you can hide photos and videos from your library. One of the key features of this folder was that the media placed in it are not backed up to the cloud. And there have been cases when many users, unaware of this fact (although it is clearly written about it), have simply lost their hidden photos and videos when resetting their device.

Fortunately this may soon change, as the latest app update, ver. 6.23, has added a hidden settings page that is responsible for backing up photos and videos from your Locked Folder to the cloud.

Google News | En

Android 13 QPR2 Beta 3.1 minor update has been released.

Build number: T2B3.230109.002 → T2B3.230109.004
Security Patch: February 2023
Fixed Issues:

• Fixed an issue in the system Bluetooth module that could have allowed for possible out-of-bounds writes due to memory corruption. (Issue #259630761)
• Fixed an issue where some Romanian translations were missing from the system image.

🔗 Android Beta

• OTA images

• Factory Images

Google News | En

Google is working on the 'Cubes' app, which is part of the Play Store.

At this stage, it is difficult to say what the app will look like. All we have at the moment is a shortcut that opens up a blank page and a 'Cubes entry point widget'. That said, both the shortcut and the widget are part of the Play Store app.

My assumption is that Cubes will be the kind of 'entertainment center' where purchased movies, games and books will be stored. I might be wrong, though.

What do you think 'Cubes' will be?

Google News | En

Separate Languages and Keyboard settings.
#Android14_DP1

Google plans to split the "Language & input" settings page into two separate "Languages" and "Keyboard" pages. The first item will include the System and App languages settings. The second one will include all the other settings.

This change is hidden behind the settings_new_keyboard_ui feature flag.

Google News | En

Touchpad settings with gestures.
#Android14_DP1.

On the System settings page, there will be a new 'Touchpad' item that will allow you to adjust the pointer speed and gestures. The entire list of settings can be seen in the attached screenshots.

There's also a shortcut that will let you "learn touchpad gestures," but clicking on it doesn't do anything yet.

This change is hidden behind the settings_new_keyboard_trackpad and settings_new_keyboard_trackpad_gesture feature flags.

Quite interestingly, Google is working on adding gestures to navigate the system using the Touchpad. So, technically having a keyboard with a trackpad, the upcoming Pixel Tablet combined with a stylus could be a pretty good workstation.

Google News | En

Gboard starts rolling out a redesigned Fast Access bar and a new 'Privacy' settings page.

New features in the Quick Access Toolbar:
• New button to access the shortcut arrangement customization
• Shortcuts can now be dragged inside access bar;
• Number of shortcuts is no longer limited to a specific number;
• Voice input button can now be replaced by any other shortcut;
• New shortcuts: Emoji and language switcher;

On the privacy settings page, you can configure:
• Sharing statistics
• Personalization
• Collecting data to improve Gboard
• Deletion of learned words and data
• Sending snippets of audio recorded during voice input

The changes are distributed from the server side.

Google News | En

Google has officially announced the Android Privacy Sandbox beta-test.

Yes, previously we have already seen the settings pages, indicating the beta test, but now the company has officially announced it. At first, only a small percentage of Android 13 devices will be eligible for the beta test, after which that group will increase. If your device is selected, you will receive an Android notification informing you of this.

The Privacy Sandbox beta provides new APIs that are designed with privacy in mind and do not use identifiers to track your activity in apps and on websites. Apps that participate in the beta will be able to use these APIs to show you relevant ads and measure their effectiveness.

🔗 Developer guidance on how to participate in the Beta

🔗 Google Blog

Google News | En

Here's how the Cloud Media app settings for Android Photo Picker will look like.

As Mishal Rahman discovered, the January Google Play system update brought an updated MediaProvider app, which includes a settings page that lets you choose the Cloud Media app where you store your photos and videos.

Eventually, the first such cloud media provider app is supposed to be Google Photos, so when you call PhotoPicker you can see photos and videos not only from your device, but also from the cloud. But so far the Google Photos developers have not implemented support for this feature.

Google News | En

Google Home will soon show its own panel with Favorite devices on the system's Device Controls page.

The latest update of version 2.65.6.1-dogfood added a new Systemcontrol.panel.GoogleHomePanelAcivity. In the future, when you call System Device Controls page and select Google Home, you will see exactly this Activity.

Here you will see all the devices that are present in the favorites tab of the *redesigned* Google Home app. In essence, the added activity copies this tab. You will also be able to edit the list of devices on this page as in the app.

Google News | En

Google introduced Partial Custom Tabs, web pages that partially overlap the app.

Normally, when you open a link in an app and think you're still in it, you actually see Custom Tabs (from your default browser). Now Google is going a step further by adding a new feature called Partial Custom Tabs, which opens pages as expandable bottom sheet.

Developers can customize the tab "in pixels" for a partial overlay, allowing users to interact with the app and the web page at the same time. Partial Custom Tabs are currently supported by several browsers, including Chrome. If the browser doesn't support Partial Custom Tabs, users will simply see a full-screen Custom Tab.

We've seen this behavior before in the Google Search app.

🔗 Android Developers Blog

Google News | En

Google Contacts will soon get two new widgets.

The first one is an Individual contact widget with shortcuts to call and open a chat in Messages, and when you click in the middle it opens the info page. (we've seen it before as 'Single Contact' widget)

The second widget shows up to 7 favorite contacts and dynamically changes its layout depending on the number of contacts and container size. It also opens a page with contact information when clicked.

These widgets were discovered in version 4.2.24.508113282. (Those widgets are not rolled out yet)

Google News | En

Play Store is experimenting with hiding the search bar in a button.

As many of you have already noticed, Google recently moved the notification button from the profile menu to the top bar, thereby reducing the width of the search bar.

As part of a new experiment, the company wants to completely hide the search bar in the magnifying glass button and add the Play Store logo to the top bar. (Flag name HomepageTopBar_enable_magnifying_glass_search)

Google News | En