Global technology brand vivo today announced Android 14 Beta 1 will be available on vivo X90 Pro and iQOO 11 smartphones in Southeast Asia starting from May 11. The program provides vivo developers with early access to the latest Android experience, enabling them to try out the new features and improve the compatibility of their applications.
The new-generation Android 14 is set to bring several notable upgrades to the user experience, including optimized device resource management, improved battery life, enhanced security and privacy, and more personalization and accessibility features.
Optimized device resource management and improved battery life
Android 14 will simplify the smartphone’s background processes by optimizing how applications are activated, improving the phone’s resource management and battery life. One of the key upgrades is that scheduling exact alarms, or actions that need to happen at a precise time, are denied by default, as they can significantly consume the device’s resources, especially battery life.
Therefore, apart from clocks or calendar apps, all newly installed apps for Android 14 must request this permission from the user before scheduling exact alarms. The app can do this by prompting users to enter their preferences in the settings screen. However, developers are encouraged to carefully evaluate the application usage scenarios and choose a more flexible alarm alternative as much as possible to reduce resource consumption and improve the user experience.
In addition, Android 14 further standardizes the use of foreground services by reserving them for the user’s highest-priority tasks, helping improve resource consumption and battery life. Applications must specify appropriate foreground service types, and they must declare a specific permission, based on the foreground service type. Therefore, developers need to clearly define and specify the application’s backend work intent and clarify which usage scenarios are appropriate for foreground services.
Enhanced security and privacy
In addition to improved battery life, Android 14 provides a more secure device environment and gives users more control to protect personal information. It introduces a photo selector feature that is more privacy-friendly and reduces the need for apps to directly obtain file read and write permissions by system takeover.
Android 14 will feature a new permission confirmation pop-up that allows users to grant partial access to photos and videos by selecting a range of media files. Alternatively, the user can choose to allow or deny the app access to all media files.
To address malware threats which typically target older API levels to bypass the security and privacy protections introduced in newer Android versions, starting with Android 14, a minimum installable target API level is applied, preventing apps with API Levels below 23 from being installed.
To safeguard the smartphone further, Android 14 is introducing restrictions to implicit and pending intents, safer dynamic code loading, and additional restrictions on starting activities from the background.
Further personalization and accessibility features
Android 14 further optimizes the personalization and accessibility features, such as regional preferences set-up for temperature units, the starting day of the week and the way numbers are presented based on the user’s individual needs and preferences. In terms of accessibility, non-linear font scaling to 200% has been added. Non-linear scaling ensures that all text remains readable, preserving the proportional hierarchy between elements of different sizes.
vivo has been proactive in supporting developers to adapt and optimize their apps for the latest Android operating system and deliver the optimal user experience. Starting from May 11, developers are invited to visit the vivo Developers website and join the Android 14 Beta Program for vivo X90 Pro and iQOO 11 in Southeast Asia. For more information, stay tuned to vivo Malaysia’s official Facebook Page.
