New report reveals Android 14 could reshape the share sheet once again
A well-known Android-savvy editor by the name of Mishaal Rahman shares on Esper more about these upcoming changes after digging in the second Developer Preview of Android 14. He describes several notable tweaks to the share sheet. (via 9to5Google)
Keep in mind that all of these changes are still part of a version of Android 14 that is not finalized and it is not 100% certain they will make it to the final release.
App-specific actions get better visibility
Right now share-related actions that are specific to the app you have opened are spread out across the share sheet a bit chaotically, or in a separate custom share sheet. This makes the whole process cumbersome, visually confusing, and cluttered.
With Android 14, app-specific actions will have their own spot in the share menu, situated at its very top between the content preview and direct share options.
Rahman mentions that he even managed to display 7 separate actions since the dedicated row is able to scroll horizontally like a carousel. However, he also shares that this function is only available to apps built for SDK level 34 on Android 14 and most are not, meaning it would take some time before developers drop custom share sheets in favor of the new dedicated row.
Share sheets becomes a standalone app
It might sound weird to make something like the share sheets menu into an app itself, but it won’t be in the same sense as the ones that appear in your app drawer. Instead, this means that share sheets will be separated from the OS, making it easier to update separately.This would also help developers to deliver a consistent experience across different Android-based operating systems since the share sheet would not be affected by the way different phone manufacturers implement it in their phones.
Content-related improvements
There are a few things Android 14 might bring that would make sharing your content easier and more intuitive. One of them is being able to go a step back and add/remove new or already marked content. Additionally, users will now be able to scroll through the selected content, instead of showing just two previews.
Lastly, there is finally an option to exclude text from shared content by tapping on a toggle. This could be text that was written in relation to the content or simply an automated link attached to it.
