Adam Birney / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The latest Android 14 beta includes improvements in how the OS handles a stylus.
- Pressing a stylus’s tail button will open the default note-taking app.
- New settings to ignore stylus button presses and a shortcut to change the default note-taking app have also been added.
Android 14‘s third beta is here, and it gives us a good look at some of the changes that Google has planned for the future of Android. With Android 14, Google is improving how the OS handles stylus, with new settings to change the default notes app and a toggle to ignore all stylus button presses.
As spotted by Mishaal Rahman, Android 14 contains code to differentiate between various buttons on a stylus: the primary button closest to the tip, the secondary button, the tertiary button, and the tail button. Pressing the tail button will launch the note-taking app you have set as default.
Further, Mishaal reveals that you can see some stylus-specific settings when you connect a stylus to your Android 14 phone or tablet and go to the device details page. These include a shortcut to change the “default notes app” and a toggle to “ignore all stylus button presses.”
It’s always good to see Android improving its support for accessories used within the ecosystem. But the improvements also have to be seen in the light of the fact that Google’s own Pixel Tablet was rumored to be coming with a stylus called “Stylus for Pixel Tablet.” The Pixel Tablet already supports USI 2.0 stylus, but Google did not go ahead and announce a dedicated stylus tailored for their tablet.
Android 14 also recently gained improvements for hardware keyboards that are usually used with tablets. Coincidentally, Google was also rumored to be working on a “Keyboard for Pixel Tablet” that hasn’t been announced yet.
While it is not mentioned that these features were intentionally made for the Pixel Tablet or have been locked to it, the coincidence is hard to ignore. We aren’t complaining, though.
Google has only launched the Pixel Tablet charging dock and an official case with a metal ring stand. Seeing the progress of these features in Android 14, we hope to see Google announce the keyboard and stylus soon for the tablet.
