Over the years, Google has earned a bad reputation for giving up on Android tablets. At its most generous, Google’s interest in buying up Android on tablets can be described as romantic love. Apple, on the other hand, has put serious energy into building iPadOS as it continues to diversify its iPad portfolio — most recently with the iPad Pro (2022) and the 10th generation iPad.
Then came Android 12L, Google’s first sign that it was taking foldable phones and tablets seriously. With Android 13, the company doubled down on building a great experience for larger screens that can also scale the user interface for different aspect ratios without making apps look like a bloated mess.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
Now we no longer have the Pixel or Nexus line of tablets to see the best of Android on big screens, as we can experience Google’s best work on Pixel smartphones. (At least, not until the Pixel Tablet gets here.) However, Samsung took matters into its own hands and came up with One UI 5, which really elevates its Galaxy Tab line far above the iPad in a number of significant ways.
The ball is back in Google’s court with Android 14, and this time the company isn’t holding back. In fact, with the release of the first Developer Preview for Android 14, Google has mainly focused on customizing Android 14 for large-screen handheld devices that come in all shapes and sizes.
Android 14 carries with it a large screen disparity
- 1. Scaling Android applications in the landscape model
- 2. Scaling Android apps in portrait mode
With Android 14, the operating system will offer more versatility to developers when it comes to options such as adjusting window sizes, the behavior of in-app sliding panes, how one app can use an active connection to launch another app’s window side-by-side, and how they play well with peripherals — among other possibilities.
The company has already created development templates for how app UI scaling works on large screens and can be adjusted accordingly when the orientation is switched between portrait and landscape use. Take, for example, the various UI element spacing templates (see image above) available to developers to get an idea of how to adjust background color shading and adjust the position of functional UI elements in their applications.
Instagram, with glorious lettering on the sides, on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Nadeem Sarwar / DigitalTrends
This is important and leads to a better Android interface on larger screens. Until now, most Android apps just look like a stretched mess on foldable screens and tablets, with each brand doing their thing and each developer going their own way.
Take Instagram, which opens in portrait mode like a phone on the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s internal display. You can keep the UI in the middle or move it closer to the left or right edge for easy one-handed use, while the rest of the screen area is blurred. Twitter, on the other hand, takes up the entire screen, but doesn’t really behave well when it comes to vertical video playback.
It makes the most of screen real estate, but offers some UI and aesthetic compromises along the way. Google’s own first-party apps do much better, but that’s not surprising at all. That disparity is likely to be resolved in the coming months, or at least over the next year, as more developers optimize their apps for Android 14.
Application quality level system
Unlike Instagram, Twitter takes up the entire screen by default on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Nadeem Sarwar / DigitalTrends
With Android 14 images now available for flashing on compatible phones and via Android Studio on larger screens, Google has also updated what it calls app quality guidelines for large screens. Google divides apps into three tiers, based on how well they adapt to large screens and the functionality they offer.
Level 3 is the minimum for applications. Such apps may not always offer the most visually pleasing experience, but at least they will take up the entire screen (or at least the entire window in split-screen mode). Moreover, they should avoid those ugly sidebars (known as letterboxing) at all costs and must also offer basic support for peripherals like keyboard, pen, mouse and trackpad.
Best drop in Tier 1 apps compatible with large screen. These big-screen-loving apps not only meet all the above criteria, but also support benefits like picture-in-picture mode and allow you to seamlessly open another app in a separate split-screen window using deep linking.
These are examples of how Google envisions apps that make the best use of large screens. Google
Notably, a level 1 application should also allow users to run multiple instances of the same application, separated in different windows. Ideal usage scenarios are applications such as web browsers, document editors, file managers and shopping applications.
Further, this class of applications should adjust according to the screen position. For example, when the device is used in tent mode, in a book-like format, or split into two screens, the user interface should be adjusted accordingly. Samsung already offers this versatility on its foldable phones.
Improving computer skills
Nadeem Sarwar / DigitalTrends
Google also dreams of apps that can mimic the real computing experience on foldable Android phones and tablets. As such, the company is looking for apps that support keyboard shortcuts that are consistent with what you have on Windows or macOS.
Additionally, Google also advises developers to go the extra mile by combining click or tap gestures with important keyboard modifiers like the Control and Shift keys. Apple already does this to a small degree with the Magic Keyboard on iPads, but Google’s attempt sounds like a well-motivated effort that will ultimately greatly improve the computing experience for the Android faithful.
Going deeper into user interface intuitiveness, Google wants all Tier 1 apps to display a scrollbar while using peripherals like a trackpad or mouse. Moreover, user interface elements should be able to display drop-down menus or tool suggestions with a hover gesture, just like browsing the web on a computer.
Google also prioritizes “desktop-style menus and context menus” wherever it sees fit. Speaking of gestures, Google wants Android apps to emulate the desktop gesture that lets you triple-click to select an entire line or paragraph of text.
When using the stylus, any Tier 1 app targeting Android 14 should allow drag and drop to move around content, both within the app and across separate windows for the same or different apps. Google also lists guidelines to help creative people, asking developers to bake in support for pen tilt and pressure sensitivity, just like what iPadOS allows between the iPad and the Apple Pencil.
In fact, it is also desirable that applications allow custom pointers for different types of applications, such as crosshairs in shooting games, brushes in design applications, and magnifiers in reading applications. It makes sense that Google has a suitable classifier for each type of application. A large display ready for Tier 1 applications, a large display optimized for Tier 2 applications and a large display dedicated for Tier 3 applications.
Google isn’t messing around with Android 14
Google
As Android 14 hits the hands of developers, Google has made it clear that the company is here to play the long game with tablets and foldables. The Pixel tablet will be a great showcase, but the focus on non-standard Android form factors is also a hint of great things to come with the sizzling foldable Pixel.
I’m excited to test Android 14 when it hits open beta, but I’m more enthusiastic to see what a great job Samsung and Oppo do with their customization layer on top of Android 14. It’ll be interesting to see how Apple stacks up against Google’s renewed assault on creating the best mobile OS for big screens!
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Source: newstars.edu.vn