Android 16 could provide a solution to one of the most irritating aspects of artificial intelligence tools
Tl;dr
- Android 16 could improve your writing without AI.
- Two new features related to AI writing tools on Android.
- Apps could choose to disable AI assistance.
Android 16: towards a writing revolution?
Mastering writing can sometimes seem difficult, even daunting for some. Fortunately, Android 16 could come to the rescue of those who wish to improve their writing skills, without resorting to artificial intelligence.
A promising discovery
According to journalist Mishaal Rahman, who carefully analyzed the second preview version of Android 16, two new features related to Android's AI writing tools have been discovered. These are the functions isWritingToolsEnabled() et setWritingToolsEnabled()integrated into the EditorInfo class.
As a reminder, the EditorInfo class is the interface that allows keyboards and applications to share information about the contents of text fields.
Increased writing control
The first function, isWritingToolsEnabled()allows Android to check if AI writing tools are enabled for a specific app or text editor. These tools are enabled by default, but this is the second function, setWritingToolsEnabled()which gives applications the ability to disable these AI writing tools, leaving full control of writing to users and the applications themselves.
Applications free of AI?
Some might question the point of disabling these AI writing tools. Rahman speculates that this could relate to specific text fields such as email addresses, passwords or phone numbers. It could also be that some developers want to offer applications without any interference from AI, like camera applications claiming to be AI-free.
We're looking forward to seeing what Android 16 has in store when it launches next year, and how developers will leverage this new feature.
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