Daily Authority: 😊 Android 14 plays nice

💘Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday’s Daily Authority. It’s February 14, also known as Valentine’s Day, also known as the most romantic day of the year, if you buy into that. More on that shortly, but first, today’s top tech news.

😻 I’m currently laid up with the lurgy, so I’ll be spending my evening bingeing Disney Plus shows with the cat. Who said romance was dead?

Android 14 plays nice with third-party app stores

Following the release of Android 14’s first developer preview last week, and a ton of information on its release date and features, we’ve got more good news for those using sideloaded apps or anyone who prefers third-party app stores.

• Android 14 will better accommodate third-party app stores.
• With the Play Store and Google itself coming under fire in recent years, Google announced several changes to accommodate third-party app stores.
• According to XDA-Developers and Mishaal Rahman, there are a ton of new Android 14 features that’ll make using third-party app stores easier.
• This includes a new API that enables third-party app stores to perform “gentle updates,” without interrupting user experience. The API can be used to delay app updates if the app in question is in use.
• Google’s also introducing an API enabling the third-party app store to request user approval before an update is installed. According to XDA-Developers, this could be helpful in case new permissions are introduced with an app update, as users will be prompted first.
• Finally, the new “update ownership feature” lets a third-party app store be the only source of automatic updates for a specific app, though the option is restricted to the initial installation via a third-party app store.

Roundup

😥 It’s not just you: Google Photos is broken on the latest iOS update (Android Authority).

👏 Samsung Galaxy S20 series grabs the One UI 5.1 update (Android Authority).

🙌 Also: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 starts getting One UI 5.1 (Android Authority).

📷 And Samsung Camera Assistant gets more features, coming to more phones (Android Authority).

💰 Google didn’t think its Bard AI was ‘really ready’ for a product yet, says Alphabet chairman, days after the chatbot’s very public mistake tanked the company’s stock (Business Insider).

🧔 How Bing’s AI Chatbot went bonkers over the Spanish prime minister’s ‘beard’ (El Pais).

👀 Carl Pei reviews the OnePlus 11, calls it ‘beautiful’ but has ‘no real identity’ (Android Authority).

🤯 The iPhone 14 Pro Max costs $1,099 to buy, but here’s how much it costs to make (Android Authority).

🎥 A new trailer dropped for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (YouTube).

🐶 In case you missed it: Puppy Bowl 2023 is the cutest sporting event of the year (Mashable).

Tuesday thing

Did you know Valentine’s Day actually commemorates the beating and beheading of a saint? Imprisoned for having performed marriage ceremonies in defiance of a ban on marriage by Emperor Claudius II, Roman priest Valentinus was beaten and beheaded on February 14, 270 A.D.

• We don’t actually know the exact date of his death, but it was on or around February 14.
• There are actually several tales about the origin of Saint Valentine’s Day, but we may never know the truth due to poorly recorded history.
• The grisly story also sees a fixation with the dismembered body parts of the priest, with several cathedrals in different countries claiming to house his remains.
• It’s a far cry from the hearts and flowers of our modern-day celebration.
• With Americans set to spend nearly $26 billion this Valentine’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation, the holiday is seeing its second-highest year for spending since the NRF began tracking back in 2004.
• Don’t have any February 14 plans? Why not check out our pick of the best romance movies on Hulu? Or if you’ve got a date, try one of the 15 best sexy Netflix movies.

Have a great day!

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.