Android 14 Could Get Stylusrelated Improvements For The Pixel Tablet

Adam Birney / Android Authority

tl; the doctor

The new Android 14 beta includes improvements to how the operating system handles styles.
Pressing the tail button on the stylus opens a standard note-taking application.
Also added are new settings for canceling stylus button presses and a shortcut to change the default note-taking app.

The third beta of Android 14 is here, and it gives us a good look at some of the changes Google has planned for the future of Android. In Android 14, Google is improving the way the operating system handles the stylus, with new settings to change the default Notes app and override all stylus keystrokes.

As Mishal Rahman pointed out, Android 14 includes code that identifies the different buttons on the stylus: the primary button closest to the tip, the secondary button, the third button, and the tail button. Clicking the Tail button will launch the Notes app that you set as default.

Also, Michal Stylus reveals that when you connect to your Android 14 phone or tablet and go to the device details page, you can see some stylus settings. This includes a shortcut to change the "Default Notes app" and the "Ignore all style keystrokes" toggle.

It's always nice to see Android improve compatibility with accessories used in the ecosystem. But the improvements should be visible as Google Pixel tablets are rumored to come with a stylus called "Stylus for Pixel Tablet". The Pixel tablet already supports the USI 2.0 stylus, but Google didn't go any further and announce a special stylus designed for the tablet.

Android 14 recently received an update for the hardware keyboards commonly used with tablets. By the way, Google is also rumored to be working on an as-yet-unknown "keyboard for Pixel tablets."

While there's no mention that these features were specifically made for the Pixel tablet, it's hard to call that a coincidence. We are not complaining.

Google has introduced a charging dock for the Pixel tablet and an official case with a metal ring. Given the development of these features in Android 14, we hope that Google will soon announce a tablet keyboard and stylus.