Android 12

Today’s the big day of the Android 12 Developer Preview, and we’re hunting for changes large and small. One interesting small change we’ve spotted is that the Pixel Launcher now offers a new 4×5 grid option.
Expand Expanding CloseAs we saw in some early screenshots, Android 12 is preparing to deliver some new privacy enhancements. While it’s not live for everyone just yet, a pair of new toggles on Android 12 allow users to disable microphone and camera access to all apps.
Expand Expanding CloseThe first Android 12 Developer Preview build includes a new settings page for the Pixel 5, intended to allow it to respond to a “Double tap” gesture on the back, which can activate the Assistant, take a screenshot, and more, but it doesn’t seem to work just yet.
Expand Expanding CloseAfter years of waiting on Google to introduce the feature, scrolling screenshots are finally a part of Android 12, but you, unfortunately, can’t access them easily.
Expand Expanding CloseAndroid 12 Developer Preview 1 arrived today, and in it, we’ve found that the Settings app has gotten a bit of a revamp, complete with a redesigned search bar.
Expand Expanding CloseAs a preview — rather than beta, Android 12 DP1 is “for developers only” and not focused on new user-facing features. That said, we’ve flashed the first Developer Preview factory image to chronicle all the new features.
Expand Expanding CloseIn recent versions of Android, Google has put emphasis on improving the ability to share WiFi passwords. With Android 12, that’s now taking advantage of the new Nearby Share feature to share WiFi passwords.
Expand Expanding CloseThe first preview of Android 12 is focused on adding underlying system features for developers, but there are a handful of user-facing changes. For example, Android 12 significantly revamps the Markup tool with the ability to add text and emoji to screenshots.
Expand Expanding CloseThe first developer preview for Android 12 is here! We’re digging through to see what’s new, and as is customary for Google, one of the first things we noticed was yet another tweak to the design of notifications in Android 12.
Expand Expanding CloseIn addition to highlighting what’s new, Google today provided a launch schedule for Android 12. There will be eight releases in total before public availability sometime after August.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle’s Android TV is taking on new levels of importance thanks to a redesigned UI coming to some devices, and in turn, it looks like major updates might get a bit faster too. Right alongside smartphones and tablets today, Google has just debuted the first preview of Android TV 12.
Expand Expanding CloseLater this year, Google’s mobile operating system will get a massive visual overhaul and more privacy controls. The months-long process to a consumer release starts today with the Android 12 Developer Preview.
Expand Expanding CloseAhead of the launch of Android 12 Developer Preview, which may be around the corner, here’s a recap of all of the Android 12 leaks we’ve seen so far.
Expand Expanding CloseOver the last few years, phones have steadily grown larger and more unwieldy, with the recent Galaxy S21 Ultra being a great example. To help make your oversized phone a bit more manageable, Android 12 could be bringing a dedicated “one-handed mode” that shrinks your phone screen’s contents.
Expand Expanding CloseWith the launch of the Android 12 Developer Preview seemingly around the corner, we’ve learned that Pixel phones may be gaining a new face-based option for Auto-Rotate.
Expand Expanding CloseIn this week’s top stories: Android 12 leak reveals a radical new design, the Google Pixel Buds receive their first firmware update of 2021, Samsung continues to put ads on their flagship Galaxy phones, and more.
Expand Expanding CloseIf Google follows last year’s precedent, the first Android 12 Developer Preview should be rolling this month. Ahead of that, a leak today of Android 12 design mockups show a radical visual overhaul of the Google operating system.
Expand Expanding CloseIn a sign that Google intends to follow last year’s early release cadence for previewing the next version of its mobile OS, the Android Beta Feedback app was updated via the Play Store on Thursday for Android 12.
Expand Expanding CloseWith Android 10, Google introduced a dedicated dark mode to reduce eye strain and simply look cooler. For Android 12, Google is working to bring a much deeper theming system, able to recolor supported apps.
Expand Expanding CloseLast year, in the initial releases of the Android 11 Developer Preview, we discovered that Google was developing a new double tap gesture for Pixel phones. Now it seems Google is working to bring the Columbus gesture back to Pixel phones with Android 12.
Expand Expanding CloseOn Android 11 today, you can use split screen to open two apps on your device at the same time. However, the process is a bit awkward and hasn’t kept pace with new phone form factors. For Android 12, Google is working on a revamped version of split screen called “App Pairs.”
Expand Expanding CloseThe fear of running out of device storage is one that we’re sure many of you out there may know and have experienced at some point with your smartphone. However, in Android 12, we might be able to “hibernate” apps as a way to free up on-device storage.
Expand Expanding CloseAndroid 12 may not be here in a full release capacity until the latter half of 2021, but that hasn’t stopped us from dreaming up a wish list of things we really hope to see in the next OS build.
Expand Expanding CloseUnlike other popular mobile operating systems, Android has always allowed the installation of third-party app stores. In fact, many Android phones ship with multiple app stores out of the box. After hearing feedback from some third-party developers, Google now says it plans to make installing and using third-party app stores easier with the next major release of Android…
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