Android 12: what was shown at the presentation
Google Announces Android 12 at Google I/O 2021 Developers Conference.
Google has posted a 40-second video about the new Android 12 interface. We recommend that you start reading this article by watching this video.
Not impressed with the new buttons and fonts? Then let’s take a closer look at what’s new under the hood in Android 12.
Google’s designers describe the new Material You system interface with three principles: «More Personal», «Private and Secure» and «Better Together.»
Android 12 interface: new wallpapers, appearance of elements, animations
Personalization in the Android 12 interface is provided by the autotune design feature for almost every element. The system automatically detects the primary and secondary colors from the image palette on the main screen (wallpaper). And then it uses them to customize the appearance (text and background color) of each element on the screen. It turns out that the interface looks neat and beautiful at the same time. Also, you will be able to manually change and customize the interface design.
All design elements have increased in size and look brighter. The system now uses Google Sans font and flat icons / icons.
Widgets have received new elements to quickly interact with them without having to launch the application. The appearance of standard widgets also adjusts to the color palette of the entire interface. Google developers have significantly expanded the API for developing widgets so that third-party application developers can use the new features of Android 12 in their widgets.
System animations are now smoother. For example, when scrolling through content, you will notice how it stretches slightly, mimicking the behavior of materials from the real world.
Designers have improved the usability of the interface. For example, on the quick settings screen, you can now turn off video or sound. They also added smart home control buttons.
Performance and energy efficiency with Android 12
Here, of course, everything has also improved. Thanks to more optimized CPU utilization, smartphones will be able to use less power and thus the battery life should be increased. But will this be relevant after, for example, Samsung/Xiaomi/Honor/other manufacturers customize the base Android 12 with their interface skins? It is not clear yet.
Of course, Google’s smartphones should show the best performance and energy efficiency.
Data security with Android 12
Now, at the moment when the running application is accessing the camera or microphone of the smartphone, you will see a special icon at the top of the screen. If you do not like this behavior, then you can easily block access to this application to the camera and microphone.
In addition, a new full-fledged dashboard (Privacy Dashboard) has been added. It displays what access applications have and when they were issued.
In Android 12, it will be possible to «hide» your geolocation from applications a little better. In the settings, you can specify not the exact location, but the approximate one.
Other features of Android 12
And also the new version of the mobile system has a Car Key function for Android Auto. In the future, there will be a new BMW vehicle that will be the first to support this feature. Still later, other automakers will join. Probably...
And smartphones on Android 12 can be used as a remote control for an Android TV set-top box and to unlock your Chromebook.
And besides this, there will be: improvements to the interface for people with impaired vision, the ability to take a «long» screenshot of the entire web page in the browser, new conversation widgets will be implemented, and Google will improve the work of third-party app stores.
How to install Android 12 Beta
The first beta version of Android 12 is available for download on May 18. List of smartphones that support Android 12:
- ASUS ZenFone 8
- iQOO 7 Legend
- OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro
- OPPO Find X3 Pro
- Nokia X20
- Tecno Camon 4
- TCL 20 Pro 5G
- Xiaomi Mi 11, Mi 11 Ultra, Mi 11i, Mi 11X Pro
- Redmi K40 Pro
- ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
Full list of devices on the site developer.android.com.
When is the final version of Android 12 expected?
According to Google’s roadmap, we should expect a stable and official version of Android 12 no earlier than September 2021. Until that time, three beta versions await us in June, July and August. A release candidate is likely to be released in August.
We have already created pages Smartphones with Android 12, Smartphones with Android 12 Go Edition, Tablets with Android 12. All new models will be added there, which are officially updated, or immediately announced on a new version of the operating system.