In Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1, I enabled a flag that let you remove the At a Glance widget entirely, but there was another interesting flag called SMARTSPACE_AS_A_WIDGET that didn't work at the time.

In Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2, I've enabled this flag, which lets you move the At a Glance widget around on screen and even rearrange it if you want!

Sadly, even with this flag enabled, you still cannot add the At a Glance widget to third-party launchers like Nova Launcher. This is because At a Glance isn't actually a widget under-the-hood, it's a "custom element behaving like a widget." (Thanks to Kieron Quinn for digging into this.)

If you're wondering whether the December 2023 stable update improved the quality of Android's USB webcam feature, it did not.

Here's a video comparing the quality when using my Pixel 8 Pro as a webcam via scrcpy's camera mirroring feature versus Android's USB webcam feature.

I tested the webcam feature last month using various Pixel phones on Android 14 QPR1 Beta 2, but now I've retested it on the stable Android 14 QPR1 release as several have requested. You can read more about my tests in the article I wrote last month for Android Central.

Google Keep is FINALLY adding support for Android 14's new note-taking feature!

As I previously revealed, Android 14 quietly added a lock screen shortcut that lets you quickly launch a notes app in a floating bubble.

You can read more about how this feature will work in this Android Authority article.

Thanks to Nail Sadykov for the tip!

After 1.5 years, Android's Photo Picker is finally preparing to get Google Photos integration! This will let the Photo Picker select photos and videos stored in the cloud.

You can learn more details and see screenshots of this feature from this article on Android Authority.

Gboard is finally starting to roll out stylus handwriting support — here's a first look on the Pixel Tablet!

This feature lets you write in text fields and use gestures to select, insert, delete, join words, or add a new line. You also get a floating toolbar for quick access to voice input, clipboard, emojis, translate, and settings.

Thanks to Bálint Béres for the tip about this feature rolling out and for sharing this video with me! (The stylus that they used is the Penoval USI 2.0 stylus.)

Note: This feature may not be immediately available for everyone. Another tipster with a Pixel Tablet and USI 2.0 stylus noticed today that when connecting their stylus, they got a "stylus handwriting model is downloading" message from Gboard, but handwriting still didn't work.

Update: It works now for them!

The new Google Weather UI has rolled out to a bunch of my non-Pixel devices recently. I noticed it on my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 the other day, but checked and saw it on a bunch of others too. These include:

* ASUS Zenfone 10
* Nothing Phone 2
* OnePlus 11
* OnePlus Pad
* OPPO Find X2
* Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra

The new UI hasn't yet rolled out to my Xiaomi 13T Pro or OnePlus Open, though. Interestingly, my Tab S8 Ultra got the UI right after I updated it to Android 14. I doubt there's a connection between the OS version and the UI's rollout, though, since my Zenfone 10, OnePlus Pad, and Find X2 are all on Android 13.

Have you received the new Google Weather UI yet on your device?

The November 2023 Google Play System Update brought Android's Photo Picker to more apps like Google Keep, Google Chat, and Google Messages on devices running Android 11.

This is because Google enabled the ACTION_GET_CONTENT takeover for Android 11 devices with the latest version of the MediaProvider Mainline module that rolled out with the November 2023 GPSU. As a result, whenever apps send the GET_CONTENT intent to invoke the old system file picker, Android seamlessly launches the new Photo Picker instead, as shown below.

The ACTION_GET_CONTENT takeover rollout began with the July 2023 GPSU for Android 13 devices.

Health Connect in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2 has added an "app priority" option.

"If more than one app adds activity data, Health Connect prioritizes the app highest in this list. Drag apps to reorder them."

Also, Health Connect now defines a new runtime permission (android.permission.health.READ_HEALTH_DATA_IN_BACKGROUND) that, once held, might let apps read health data while they're in the background.

Here's how Google will simplify sideloading in Android.

As part of a proposed class action lawsuit settlement, Google said it will revise the default sideloading flow in Android. Here's exactly what they're changing:

1) The pop-up with the text "For your security, your phone currently isn't allowed to install unknown apps from this source. You can change this in Settings" and the "Install unknown apps" screen that lets you enable sideloading from the specified source will be combined into a single screen. That means you won't have to visit Settings to enable sideloading from a specified source anymore.

2) The text in this combined screen will read as follows: "Your phone currently isn't configured to install apps from this source. Granting this source permission to install apps could place your phone and data at risk."

Google will have to maintain this revised default sideloading flow for a period of five years after it's implemented, and they cannot "introduce additional material complexity or burden into the Revised Default Sideloading Flow solely because an app was sideloaded, as opposed to being downloaded from Google Play."

Source: 6.10 Sideloading from the Settlement Agreement and Release document