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Samsung commits to killing background apps less often with Android 14, One UI 6.0

One complaint that Android app developers (and end users) have are the differing “restrictions on foreground services and background work” across devices. Google is addressing background inconsistencies with Android 14 and will be getting buy-in from Samsung.

Right now, some OEMs are very aggressive about killing background apps to save battery life. This can lead to applications breaking and end users blaming developers for a poor experience. Said app devs are already following Android’s guidance, but working around each OEM restriction/inconsistency is not feasible or even possible.

Google’s goal starting with Android 14 is to “make it easier for developers to create apps that work consistently across different Android devices.”

Looking to solve these consistency challenges, we are announcing deeper partnerships with Android hardware manufacturers to help ensure APIs for background work are supported predictably and consistently across the ecosystem.

—Google

Samsung is described as the “first partner” today, with One UI 6.0 making it so that “foreground services of apps targeting Android 14 will be guaranteed to work as intended so long as they are developed according to Android’s new foreground service API policy.”

To strengthen the Android platform, our collaboration with Google has resulted in a unified policy that we expect will create a more consistent and reliable user experience for Galaxy users.

—Samsung

With Android 14, Google (with DP1) announced a trio of changes:

Developers are encouraged to send feedback (Issue Tracker) on the Android 14 APIs, as well as contribute  CTS-D tests to “help catch consistency issues.”

Lastly, If you see behavior differences across Android devices, be sure to file a ticket using goo.gle/devicespecificissue to bring it to our attention.

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com