Although the final version of Android 13 is fast approaching, Google developers never sleep. It’s safe to assume there’s already a roadmap and plans for the next big release, Android 14. While we now know what Android 13 will and won’t support, we can already put together a wish list of features that unfortunately didn’t make it. the most recent version of Android. Therefore, here are seven features we want to see in Android 14.
Mind you, we’re going to focus here on Google’s approach to Android. Some of the options and features mentioned below may already be part of Android on devices from some other manufacturers. Looking at the full ecosystem would break the scope of this article. However, since Google makes many features available to all other manufacturers (even making some mandatory), features that come to Google phones for the first time bring benefits to the entire Android market.
Apple unveiled its new iPhone lock screen earlier this year at WWDC, and if you’ve been using an Android phone for a while, it should sound familiar. The Cupertino company has introduced the ability to add widgets to the lock screen, with lots of fancy customization options. We’ll focus on the former here, because once upon a time, Android also supported lock screen widgets. Until version 4.4 (KitKat), it was possible to add widgets of your choice on the lock screen. You can either replace the clock at the top of the screen or add a widget on a panel of its own with a simple swipe to the right. The system has always been rather gimmicky, however, with few useful apps. In any case, Samsung has kept this feature and to this day offers lock screen widgets on its Android One UI skin.
First image : iOS 16 lock screen widgets. Remaining frames: Old Android 4.2 lock screen widgets
While you might be wondering why Google would bring back a feature it obviously abandoned a long time ago, it wouldn’t be the first time that Apple has breathed new life into an Android feature that’s been languishing for a while. The same thing happened when iOS initially introduced widget support, with Google suddenly taking an interest in the concept again. Following in Apple’s footsteps, Google revamped how widgets work on Android 12 and introduced completely redesigned widgets from its own apps.
Speaking of widgets, Google may have found new interest in the concept thanks to Apple, and it may have introduced some much-needed improvements to the underlying mechanics, but we want more. Apple introduced the neat concept of stacked widgets, which allows you to add multiple widgets in one place on your home screen. To access them all, you can simply browse through them.
This is something we wish Google implemented on Android as well, although the matter is a bit more complicated on the platform. Apple widgets aren’t scrollable or very interactive at all, so it’s much easier to reserve a scroll gesture for a system feature like this.
However, it is frustrating that Google has almost already created a system like this. Its At a Glance widget gives you information about upcoming events, connected devices, weather alerts, and more, and it lets you scroll horizontally across multiple entries when there are multiple entries. In fact, Google has been spotted working on its own version of stacked widgets in Android 12, so there might be reasonable hope for Android 14.
Bring back dedicated Wi-Fi and mobile network toggles
In Android 12, Google decided it was time to clean up the Quick Settings toggles. In the process, the company merged the Wi-Fi and mobile data options into one overarching “internet” toggle. Not only is the toggle itself confusing to use, but it also makes simple processes like disconnecting and reconnecting to your spotty Wi-Fi network quickly an ordeal. This is unfortunately something that many of us still have to do on a daily basis, as internet connections can sometimes be inherently unstable.
Depending on the quality of your mobile connection when you’re indoors, it’s also often a good idea to turn off the mobile radio completely in order to save some of that precious battery life, and that’s another thing that the monolithic internet toggle makes harder or at least less intuitive to do.
Make third-party launchers smooth again
Ever since Google introduced gesture navigation on Android 10, third-party launchers have been languishing. This is because the default pre-installed launcher is tied into the system much more deeply than before to provide smooth transitions between the Home screen, Recents preview, and apps. The third-party launcher just doesn’t have the same privileges as the pre-installed one, leaving you with two choices: either stick with the one that comes with your phone and may lack some features you want, or suffer inconsistent animations in exchange for more advanced customization.
The lounge chair launcher
Ideally, Android 14 would simply give third-party launchers the ability to plug deeper into the system when set as the standard option, although it’s understandable that Google might be wary due to security concerns. There are also some serious technical challenges to overcome here, since Android makers have different animations and methods to achieve them, so custom launchers may need to be coded for specific phones only.
Help developers make gesture navigation prettier in apps
In another point related to gesture navigation here, we want to talk about something that is a bit of an underlying issue. Apple’s iPhones and iPads are quite good at making gesture navigation natural and as a deeply integrated part in the system and in apps, but on Android gesture navigation still clashes with many apps, especially the way the navigation bar is displayed. Android apps often don’t draw content behind the navbar, leaving a big block around the actual navbar. On iOS, that’s not much of an issue – almost all apps draw content into the area behind the navbar, and that makes for a much more immersive experience.
While iOS developers only have a handful of different screen sizes and processors to support, Google could probably offer developers more help with this so-called edge-to-edge navigation. Android app developer Pavlo Rekun told us in an interview that in the worst case, Android app developers have to adjust each view of their app to make the navigation bar transparent. It’s understandable that many big studios with tons of pages and individual views in their apps don’t have time to worry about a small cosmetic decision like this, especially since all users of Android don’t even use gesture navigation. However, it would still be nice to see a little more consistency and attention to detail on Android. Google will have to force or help developers with this.
Bring icon shapes and custom fonts back to the Pixel
Android 11 officially added the ability to change icon shapes, fonts, and some colors in the notification shade and settings on Pixel phones. This was removed once Android 12 launched with its Material You themes, based on your wallpaper. It makes sense to remove some options here as they clash with this wallpaper-based theme, but Google really went above and beyond to remove all customization options – especially icon shapes and fonts – while he was at it.
With Material You maturing and becoming more and more flexible and customizable (Android 13 added a ton of additional color pull combos), it would make sense for Google to reintroduce some of the customization options it decided to remove in preparation of Material You. After all, it’s not clear how different icon shapes and fonts would clash with Material You’s colorful themes.
Add appropriate privacy controls for apps
Apple introduced privacy controls in iOS 14.5, which require apps to seek user approval if they want to track them on other apps to create more granular ad models. Understandably, most people tend to decline a request like this when asked explicitly upfront, and so many ad agencies have lost access to data counters they could previously rely on.
While we’d love a feature like this on Android, Google is highly unlikely to add anything as powerful as Apple, and Google has already made that clear. The company is currently working on the Privacy Sandbox, which promises to offer the best of both worlds to users and advertisers. The system is supposed to allow personalized advertisements that use a new feature of the system rather than tracking on their own.
Google is an advertising company at its core, so a drastic solution like Apple’s would conflict with its own interests. And even if it introduced an advanced option like this, competitors might be quick to point out that Google is creating an unfair advantage for itself on its platform, leading to all sorts of legal issues. Still, we can dream, and we would like to have serious privacy controls on the platform.
Hurry up and wait
Since Google hasn’t released the final version or Android 13 yet, it’s fair to say that we’re about a year away from getting our first look at Android 14. If you’re worried your current phone won’t suffer bump to Android 13 or 14, you’ll want to take a look at our pick of the best Android phones. Almost all of our top picks will get an Android 14 bump. If you’re looking to buy a good phone but money is tight, take a look at the best budget phones; Google’s Pixel 5a is expected to receive the update alongside almost all Samsung Galaxy A series phones.