14 Best Android 14 Hidden Features and Tips You Should Know

Mehvish Mushtaq is a computer engineer by degree. Her love for Android and gadgets led her to develop the first Android app for Kashmir. Known as Dial Kashmir, she won the prestigious Nari Shakti award from the President of India. She has been writing about technology for 6+ years and her favorite categories include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, social media, and web apps.

A computer engineer by degree, Varun has 7+ years of experience in the field of technology. After his stints at Beebom and MrPhone, Varun has been covering different facets of technology at Guiding Tech. Here, he contributes to Team GT by helping its readers make better purchases while also understanding the meaning of each feature. In his free time, you can find him sharing his excellent photography skills along with his Aces in Valorant over Twitter.

1. Create Cinematic or Live Wallpaper From Any Photo

With Android 14, you can create cinematic wallpapers with 3D effects from any photo saved on your phone. The wallpaper appears to move when you switch between pages or perform other actions. You can set this cinematic wallpaper on both the lock and home screen. Here’s how.

Step 1:On your Android 14 device, navigate toSettings > Wallpaper & style > More wallpapers. Tap onMy Photos.

Step 2:Selectthephotoof your choice to create a cinematic wallpaper. Once the photo preview shows up,tapon theiconwith three stars. A confirmation pop-up will show up. Next,enablethetogglenext to Create Cinematic wallpaper. Once done, the wallpaper may turn blurry. Wait for a few seconds, then tap theSet Wallpaperbutton at the top.

Note: If you don’t have the cinematic wallpapers option or cannot set it,openthe Google Photos app and go toLibrary>Utilities>Cinematic photo. Select a photo and create a cinematic picture. Your phone will automatically download the necessary files for cinematic wallpapers. Restart your Android phone, and then try creating a cinematic wallpaper.

2. Enable Flash Notification

Android 14 introduces the much-awaited flash notification feature. And you don’t just get one, but there are two types of flash notification features in Android 14. First is theCamera flash, which, as the name suggests, will use the camera flash for new notifications and alarms. And second is the Screen flash, where the screen will light up with a selected color upon receiving new notifications.

To enable it, go toSettings > Notifications > Flash notifications. Here,enable the togglenext to the preferred Flash notification type. If you want to use Screen Flash,tapon theScreen Flashtext to select the color of the screen flash color.

Note: The flash notification feature is functional regardless of your phone being locked or unlocked.

3. Create AI Wallpapers

Android 14 lets users create completely new wallpapers using AI. You must pick from given topics and colors and modify the text to create different wallpaper versions.

To create an Android 14 AI Wallpaper, follow these steps:

Step 1:Head on toSettings > Wallpaper & style > More Wallpapers. Here,taponAI Wallpaperand select your theme.

Step 2:Tapon thedotted textto replace it with a pre-given text. Finally,tap on Create Wallpaperto make your AI wallpaper. Once done,pressthecheckmark iconto set the wallpaper.

4. Monochrome Theme

If you enjoy customizing the theme and colors of your Android phone, Android 14 brings a neat monochrome (black and white) theme for both the lock and home screen.

To apply it, go toSettings > Wallpaper & Style, andselecttheBlack and whitecolor theme from the list of options. If it isn’t visible,tapthethree-dot iconand select theBlack and whitetheme. And that’s it.

Once applied, you will notice that most things will use the Monochrome effect. For best results,tapon theHome screen tabandenablethe toggle next to Themed icons.

5. Set Regional Preferences

Android 14 update lets you set regional preferences for temperature (C, F), the first day of the week, and more. That way, the apps can personalize the experience without the need to change it every time you install an app.

To customize it, simply navigate toSettings > System > Languages > Regional preferences. Here, you can set your preferences as per your region.

6. Keep Separate Notification and Ring Volume

If you have ever used a Samsung Galaxy phone, you must have noticed that it has separate options to control notification and ring volume. This is another hidden feature introduced in Android 14. Now, you can keep ring volume at maximum whereas notification volume to a minimum or whatever suits you.

Go toSettings > Sound and Vibration. Here, you will find separate volume sliders for Ringtone and Notifications.

7. Increase Font Size Up to 200%

One of the coolest hidden features of Android 14 is that you can increase the font size to 200% now. Moreover, there’s non-linear font sizing, which means everything will be increased appropriately without messing anything, especially the larger font size, which will be increased slower than the small font.

Go toSettings > Display > Display size and text. Use thesliderunder theFont size sliderto make text bigger or smaller.

Tip: Check out thebest font apps for Android users

8. Change Font from Quick Tiles

Starting with Android 14, you can quickly make text bigger or smaller on your phone from the newly introduced Font sizeQuick tile.

Swipe down twice from the top edge toopen the Quick Settings panel. Look for theFont size tile. Tap on it and thenuse the slider to adjust the font size.

Note:If you don’t see the font size tile, tap on the Pencil (Edit) icon on the Quick Panel and add the Font size tile.

9. Give Access to Certain Photos and Videos Only

Until now, you could give full or no access to your photos and videos to apps. But that’s changing with Android 14, as you can select or pick only certain photos, so the app doesn’t have access to all your photos or videos. Whenever you see the ‘Allow [app name] to access photos and videos on this device’ pop-up,choose the ‘Select photos and videos’ option.

10. Login Without Pressing Enter

One tiny annoying feature of Android has been that you need to pressEnterafter you input your lock screen password. Thankfully, that’s changing with Android 14, as your phone will unlock automatically after you enter the correct lock screen password.

To enable it, simply go toSettings > Security and Privacy> Device Unlock. Tap thegear iconnext toScreen lockandenablethe toggle forAuto-confirm unlock.

Note: This setting will show up only if you have set a 6-digit PIN.

11. Drag and Drop Text or Images Between Apps

The drag-and-drop feature was available in Android 13 for split-screen mode. But it now works between apps in full-screen and also in the App Switcher (Recent apps) screen. Select the text or image by holding it, use your other hand to open the app from the home screen or in the App Switcher where you want to put it, and then drag it to that app.

Tip:On the recent apps screen, you can drag it to the list of contacts or apps at the bottom. Or, to the three-dot icon to open the Share screen from where you can select any app.

12. Make the Navigation Bar Transparent

If you look at small details, you will be glad to know that Android 14 can now keep the navigation bar color transparent. The setting is under theDeveloper optionsby the name of theTransparent navigation bar.

13. Check Phone’s Manufacturing Date

With Android 14, you can now check the year your phone was manufactured. Go toSettings > About phone > Model. Here, you will see theManufactured year.

14. Lock Screen Customization

You must have definitely heard about the lock screen customization introduced in Android 14. You can customize the lock screen clock by changing its style, size, and color. You can even add lock screen shortcuts now. We have coveredAndroid 14 lock screen customizationin our dedicated post.

Other Cool Features of Android 14

Here are some additional hidden features of Android 14:

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Last updated on 27 June, 2024

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