Android 14 Developer Preview 2 is now available, and without Google’s Media Player tweaks, it wouldn’t be an early access build. The second such version of Android 14 that you can’t and probably shouldn’t flash to your eligible Google Pixel is the most recent developer-focused build. The Media player used in the Quick Settings panel and lockscreen was not modified or tuned in Android 14 Developer Preview 1. However, this time, Google has made a few minor adjustments that can be immediately observed.
When looking at the media player on the lockscreen, you can see a very small adjustment to the animation. The player will expand into view on the Always-on display in Android 13 when it slides up. The Media player will appear here in Android 14 Developer Preview 2. It’s another minor change, however, one that you’ll recognize and ponder precisely what feels unique.
Android 13 QPR2 Beta 1
Not only that, but you’ll also see a wave glow animation when you use the player controls to show that something has been accessed or activated. Additionally, Android 13 QPR2 Beta 1’s glowing animation effect when audio is playing has been restored by Google. In Android 14 Developer Preview 2, both glow effects will use a color complementary to the album art of the media being played. This appears to work with most apps that are compatible with the Media player.
Android 14 Developer Preview 2 features
- The media output switcher continues the transformations. Now, any speakers and Cast-enabled devices that are nearby or available will be shown in this area.
- Additionally, a new icon has been added to the volume control slider to indicate that your device’s audio is muted.
- The Android team has been looking into ways to improve the back gesture so that it is easier to understand what it does. With the most recent Android 14 review, the Settings application has a prescient back signal that can show which page you’ll return to.
- The “predictive back gesture” was added to Android 13 and was initially only intended to inform users that swiping back would exit an application and return them to the home screen. You can use this feature on Pixel phones by activating a special toggle in Developer Options.
- Turn on the “Predictive back animations” switch to enable the updated back gesture, assuming that Developer Options is already enabled. When you start swiping for the back gesture, supported apps like Google Phone will display a portion of your home screen. You can slowly reverse the swipe motion and return to the app if you didn’t intend to close it.
With Android 14, this feature will be expanded to allow apps to display previews of what will occur when you return from any screen, as was previously announced. Our first significant demonstration of this comes from the Settings app, where you can enter one of the sub menus and then swipe back to see that you will be taken back to the main page.
However, since this feature is easier to demonstrate than explain, here is a brief preview:
As you can see, a slightly transparent version of the “Network & Internet” page appears when I swipe back from the “Data saver” page. Users can completely halt the gesture by releasing and swiping back.
