Android 14

Android 14 preparing better stylus support that might help out the Pixel Tablet

Ben Schoon | Jun 9 2023 - 7:43 am PT

Google’s Pixel Tablet is riding a wave of renewed interest in Android tablets, and, in Android 14, Google appears to be working on better stylus support.

There are a huge number of Android devices out there that support stylus input, but generally this is handled by each device maker. Android itself doesn’t really have particularly robust support. That may be changing in Android 14, though.

As Mishaal Rahman highlights and demos in the image below, Google has a few key improvements in store. On the user-facing side, connecting a smart stylus to Android 14 now has new settings, including the ability to set a default app for notes, an option to ignore stylus button presses, and more.

Behind the scenes, Google has further improvements. It appears that Android is working to better support multiple buttons on a stylus, including “Primary,” “Secondary,” “Teriary,” and “Tail.” Interestingly, there’s a specific message about the “tail” button not generally corresponding “to the function of an eraser.” Rather, a message in Android mentions setting a default app for notes, which hints this button might be used for launching your notes app of choice.

These improvements sound welcome for stylus use, and it’s unfortunate they won’t be in place for the Pixel Tablet’s debut. While Google isn’t selling an official stylus, the Pixel Tablet does support USI 2.0 stylus options, so these added controls may end up benefitting the tablet in the long run.