The announcement of Android 14 is scheduled for the Google I/O 2023 conference, but in the meantime, the American company has released the second preview version for developers of Android 14, and one of the novelties that has attracted attention is the possible inclusion of one emoji wallpapers feature. However, this feature would be exclusive to the Google Pixel series.
The Android operating system is characterized by its high level of customization and with each new version, options are added for it. Now, this new feature seems to be part of Google’s efforts to stay ahead of the competition in the smartphone market and provide new and innovative features to its users.
Create custom wallpapers as you like
In January of this year, the New York Times reported that Google was working on several image and video projects, including a “wallpaper maker for pixel smartphone”. The new Android 14 feature was discovered after a thorough version analysis, and it was found to be available in a new app called “Emoji Wallpaper”.
The app is located in the “/product” partition of the Android codebase and requires the “com.google.android.feature.PIXEL_EXPERIENCE” feature flag to be declared for use. In this regard, it is important to note that the emoji wallpapers feature is not enabled by default in Android 14 DP2, which means that it is not guaranteed that it will be available when the stable version of Android 14 is released for Pixel phones.
The option allows users to create custom wallpapers using a selection of up to 14 emojis and a variety of patterns and colors. It is also possible to edit and save multiple emoji wallpapers and switch between them. By default, this wallpaper picker is not active, but after turning on a debugging option, the Wallpaper & Picker app appeared.
Once activated, a new option named as “Emoji Lab” in the wallpaper list. Tapping on it opened an interface that allowed me to create a new wallpaper with various emojis. After creating an emoji wallpaper, it can be saved in the “Wallpapers & Styles > Wallpapers > Emoji Lab” section, and the app supports saving various emoji wallpapers that can be changed and edited.
Other news of the update
This new feature of emoji wallpapers is added to other novelties that have already been presented in Android 14. In this second version for developers, other changes regarding third-party app stores. Now, apps downloaded from them will also stay up to date without relying on the Google Play Store.
Another of the new features that are coming is the custom permissions manager in some aspects. For example, you can allow access to the gallery only by selecting some photos. As more details about this version are discovered, they will be informed about its features and possible new features.