15 Best Android 14 hidden features you must try in 2024

Has your phone got the latest Android 14 update? Well, brace yourself! I went deep into Android 14 and found some cool hidden features. These can be a total game changer. Here, I’ll share the best Android 14 hidden features with tips and tricks to make your experience unique.

Note: The below-mentioned features are available on the Android 14 QPR2 update. So, some may not show up on your device. Please update your phone before proceeding. Besides, we have used a Google Pixel device to test them. Based on your device UI, steps may vary.

1. Convert your photos into 3D wallpapers 

Android has always been the best at customization.

With Android 14, you can use your photos to create Live wallpapers with 3D effects. Simply put, the wallpaper seems to move as you move your finger across the home screen or lock screen.  

1. Go to Settings → Select Wallpaper & style.
2. Tap More wallpapers → Select My photos.
   
   
3. Choose the photo you want to use as wallpaper.
4. Tap the three-star icon → Toggle on Create Cinematic wallpaper.
   
   
5. Now, wait for a few seconds and hit Set Wallpaper.
6. Select the wallpaper location.
   Here, I have chosen the Home screen.
   
   

If you don’t see the Cinematic wallpaper toggle:

1. Navigate to Google Photos → Tap Library → Select Utilities → Cinematic photo.
   
   
2. Select Photo → Create.
3. Now, your phone will install tools for making cinematic photos.
   
   
4. Next, restart your phone and try the above steps again.

2. Lock screen shortcuts

The lock screen personalization options of Android 14 are at another level.

Besides customizing the lock screen’s design and clock styles, you can add app shortcuts to it. Thus, you may launch the app without unlocking your phone.

1. Tap and hold a space on the home screen.
2. Select Wallpaper & style → Navigate to the Lock screen tab → Tap Shortcuts.
   
   
3. Set Right shortcut and Left shortcut.
   
   

Here, you may set shortcuts to Camera, Do Not Disturb, Mute, Flashlight, QR code scanner, Google Home, Google Wallet, etc.

3. Monochrome theme

Let’s make your phone more minimalistic with a monochrome theme available on Android 14.

It will remove colors from icons and widgets and turn them black and white on your phone. However, this monochromatic theme can only be applied to the system and Google apps.

1. Tap and hold a space on the home screen → Select Wallpaper & style.
2. Navigate to the Home screen → Choose the Black and white color theme.
   If you can’t find it, tap the three dots icon and select the theme.
3. Toggle on Themed icons to apply the monochrome effect on all apps.
   
   

4. Notification flash

Android 14 is bringing back an old friend! Whenever you receive a notification or alarm rings, your phone’s camera will flash, or the display will light up even if it’s locked.

So, you’ll get informed about the new alerts whether your phone is silent or you can’t hear the notification.

1. Open Settings → Go to Notifications.
2. Select Flash notifications.
3. Toggle on Camera flash or Screen flash.
   You may enable both together.
   
   
   • If you have chosen Screen flash, tap the color name underneath → Choose a preferred color → Tap Preview → Done.
     
     

Note that you can’t adjust each app’s notification flash settings or color.

5. Notification cooldown

If you are bombarded with alerts, you may limit the unwanted notifications on your Android phone.

The Notification Cooldown is a hidden feature of Android 14 QPR2, which gradually suppresses the notification volume from the same app.

1. Go to Settings → Notifications → Notification cooldown.
2. Tap Notification cooldown.
3. Select Apply cooldown to all notifications or Apply cooldown to conversations.

Additionally, you may toggle on Vibrate when unlocked. So, when you receive consecutive notifications from a contact or app, your phone won’t vibrate nonstop.

6. Enhanced language preferences 

Android 14 lets you have a more localized app experience as you can set metric preferences. These regional settings are automatically set on all apps.

1. Open Settings → Select System → Languages.
   
   
2. Tap Regional preferences.  
3. Choose metrics for Temperature and First day of week.
   
   

Also, your phone will address you with the proper pronouns, thanks to the upcoming language feature changes in Android 14.

The included Grammatical Inflection API will support gendered languages such as French and German.

7. Restrict photos and video access 

Android 14 has come with more privacy-focused new features.

Until now, apps with gallery permission could access all your images and videos. Now, you can control which photos and videos particular applications may access. 

When an app asks permission to access your gallery, tap Select photos and videos. Now, choose which media items the app can view.

8. Larger font size

Does the largest font size still look small to you? Then you are in luck!

Android 14 enhanced the font features, allowing you to increase the size to 200%. Besides, you may make the body font bold. However, the bigger texts, like headings, will remain the same.

To adjust the font size:

1. Launch Settings → Go to Display.
2. Select Display size and text.
3. Drag the slider to increase or decrease the font size.
   
   

Tips: Android 14 lets you add the font size slider in the Quick panel to change the text size quickly. Swipe down twice from the upper border → Tap Font size → Adjust the slider. If you can’t find the font size option, tap the pencil icon and add Font size. 

9. Create AI wallpapers

As Google is experimenting with generative AI, you can make your unique wallpaper and customize it accordingly. Sounds fun, right? However, the feature is limited to Pixel 8 series phones. 

1. Launch Settings → Wallpaper & style.
2. Tap More wallpapers → Select AI Wallpaper.
3. Choose a theme from the library.
4. Tap the object name → Choose a topic.
5. Hit Create wallpaper.
6. If you like the wallpaper, tap the right icon.

Besides, Android 14 offers another cool hidden feature: an Emoji wallpaper maker. Your phone will create an interactive wallpaper with the selected emojis and a primary color.  

10. Check battery life on your Android phone

Android 14 brings several quality-of-life enhancements internally and in the UI for better battery efficiency. Thus, users can get a more seamless experience.   

Besides, you may view your Android phone’s battery details. 

1. Go to Settings → Select About Phone → Tap Battery Information. 

2. You’ll get the battery’s manufacturing date and cycle count information here. 
   
   

11. Improved PIN privacy

Want to protect your phone login pin from a snooper? Now, you can hide the animation that appears when you enter the PIN on your phone. This makes deciphering your password extremely tough for prying eyes.

Another cool hidden feature of Android 14 is that you may unlock your phone without pressing the OK or Enter button. However, you must set a PIN of six digits or more. Let’s learn how to do this:

1. Go to Settings → Security & privacy.
2. Tap Device unlock.
   
   
3. Press the gear icon beside the Screen lock.
4. Toggle on Auto-confirm unlock and Enhanced PIN privacy.
   
   

Now, whenever you input the correct PIN, your phone will open automatically!

12. Quick drag and drop text and images between apps

Let me share a productive hidden feature of Android 14. Though the drag-and-drop function is available for split-screen mode, now you can use it while navigating between apps.

1. Tap and hold the desired text or photo and drag it.
2. Use another hand to open the app where you want to drop them.
   Alternatively, you may open the App Switcher panel and drag them to the contacts or recent apps.

13. Check the phone’s manufacturing date

Want to know the birthday of your adored phone? Android 14 has made a way to know the year your phone was made. This will help you make the decision when buying a secondhand phone.

1. Open Settings → Go to About Phone.
2. Select Model → Check the Manufactured year.
   
   

14. Different volumes for the ring and notifications 

Being inspired by Samsung, Android 14 has separated the ring and notification volume settings. So, you may make your phone ring slightly more softly, whereas notifications would be audible. 

1. Open Settings → Go to Sounds & vibration. 

2. Adjust the sliders accordingly. 
   
   

15. No more outdated apps 

Older apps made with Android 5.1 Lollipop APIs or below don’t have the recent security features. So, the new privacy features of Android 14 prevent the installation of these apps to stop malware attacks. However, your earlier apps will still function on your phone after updating to Android 14. 

Bonus: Find Android 14 Easter Egg

Android 14 has a hidden Easter Egg min game. With this, you can go for space exploration from your phone. Though it’s not a productivity tool, users may go for a hunt and have fun.

1. Go to Settings → About phone → Tap Android version.
2. Now, repeatedly tap 14 under the Android version until you see the logo.

The official Android 14 logo appears when you first break the Easter egg. It resembles NASA’s Apollo 14 mission patch logo, floating in outer space.

The Easter egg doesn’t stop there, though. Press the logo for a while, and you will see a spacecraft taking flight. Holding it long enough will cause the logo to vanish and reveal controls for a little ship floating through space.

The controls also show your velocity, current location, and the state of your ship’s thrusters. You can navigate across space by holding down the spacecraft and moving your finger. As you explore the space, you can see the star’s name, class, radius, mass, etc., that is closest to your position.

To have more fun, you may direct your ship toward the star until the coordinates at the lower left corner read (0, 0). If you’d like, you can even collide with the star. If not, take a round on the star’s orbit and meet with its celestial bodies.

Other upcoming features of Android 14

• Transparent Navigation Bar: You can toggle on the Transparent Navigation Bar under Developer options in Settings.
• External webcam: Android 14 will let you use your Android phone as an external web camera and broadcast in 1080p. 
• Google Health Connect: All Android 14 smartphones may have the Google Health Connect app preloaded. The app is aimed to consolidate all your fitness and health data and update them automatically. 
• Lossless audio: With wired headphones, you may see support for lossless audio on Android 14. 
• Ultra HDR: Android 14 is expected to support 10-bit Ultra HDR. So, users will be able to capture more information from the camera sensor to produce richer contrast and more brilliant colors. 
• Google Lens: Google Lens is expected to let you draw a circle to highlight anything on the screen to search.
• Aspect ratio for foldables: With Android 14, you may adjust an app’s aspect ratio to let it fill the screen on tablets and foldable smartphones.
• Users are expected to prevent their devices from connecting to the unsafe 2G standard with Android 14. 

Video on the best Android 14 hidden features

Reveal the coolest secrets in Android 14!

The above-mentioned hidden tricks and features make the new Android 14 super awesome. But these are just the beginning. As you use Android 14, keep playing around and finding new stuff, making your phone experience more fun and useful. So, until next time, enjoy your tech adventures!