Android 14: A Faster and More Efficient Operating System

Android 14 is no doubt a faster and more efficient operating system. It goes beyond its stunning visual enhancements and incorporates several vital internal changes that significantly impact the user experience. These modifications enhance the speed and storage efficiency of mobile applications.

Android 14 introduces transformative alterations in the way cached applications function. Apps now enter a cached state and remain there without consuming CPU resources, allowing for more extensive cache storage. As a result, there is a remarkable 30% reduction in the time it takes to launch cold applications. Additionally, these changes led to a notable reduction in the size of the application code by approximately 9%.

Android 14: A Faster and More Efficient Operating System

Frozen Cached Apps: Android 14 introduces the concept of “frozen” cached apps. After a brief inactivity, these apps are effectively frozen and no longer utilize CPU resources. According to Google, this change has resulted in cached processes consuming up to 50% less CPU than Android 13. Moreover, it also restrict the background operation for Android apps outside of specific lifecycle APIs, such as foreground services, JobScheduler, and WorkManager.

Optimized Broadcasts: In conjunction with the frozen app feature, Android 14 fine-tunes how applications receive context-registered broadcasts once they transition to a cached state. These broadcasts are now queued, and repetitive broadcasts, like BATTERY_CHANGED, can be combined into a single broadcast. This optimized approach ensures a smoother operational flow.

See Also: Android 14 is Now Official With Customization Options, Accessibility Features and More

Faster Apps: These improvements have enabled Google to raise the limit on the maximum number of cached applications supported by the platform. In Android 14, this limit is significantly increased, from 32 to 1024, substantially reducing the number of cold-started applications, depending on the device’s RAM. For instance, a device with 8 GB of RAM witnesses a 20% reduction in cold app starts. While a device with 12 GB of RAM experiences an even more impressive 30% reduction. Cold boot, involving launching an application “from scratch,” is not only more energy-efficient but also results in quicker app launches.

Less Disk Space: Android 14 introduces optimizations to the Android Runtime (ART) that reduce the average code size by 9.3%, enhancing overall efficiency without compromising performance. In an AMA on Reddit with the Android team, Dieter Bohn noted that the average mobile phone contains between 500 MB and 1 GB of optimized code. Consequently, ART’s improvements translate to storage savings of 50 to 100 MB, a noteworthy benefit.

These under-the-hood enhancements demonstrate Google’s commitment to optimizing the Android operating system’s core functionalities, resulting in a smoother and more efficient user experience.