What We Can Expect in the Android 12 Update this Year
Unfortunately, the latest Android 12 developer preview won’t do much to satisfy the craving for the full update details. The preview is merely a bare-bones framework that seems only to be made for developers. The best is tucked away carefully from the public eye, preserved for later.
Android 12 is the 2021 Google operating system update for Android that improves on Android 11 in 2020, which still hasn’t seen many smartphones. We can expect Android 12 to completely launch and roll out by the end of 2021. Now that that’s out of the way let’s dig into the update version details and specifications that have been confirmed.
Customization Features
Google has been steadily improving its theme and customization options. For this update, you can further customize your Home Screen grid with the first developer preview of Android 12. Mainly, Google has added another grid option. So, here is now a default option between 4x5 and 4x4, 3x3, 2x2.
Still, on customization, you may take a screenshot and go to the Edit/Markup feature to customize your screenshots and type in various fonts in text. Moreover, if you want to add emojis, hit the icon with the little sticker. You can also quickly resize them by pinching them to zoom.
Like screenshots above, you can use the option ‘Edit’ to mark images before sending them on while sharing an image file. Enter the default sharing menu and tap ‘more’ where your other applications load, and you can change them under the picture thumbnails next to Nearby Share.
Display Changes
The first advancement in this category is the blue tint surface. It may be very difficult to see, but much of the surface is subtly light blue. It’s like a pale mint blue; we can see the settings’ quick toggles (instead of the gray) and the usual light theme in certain parts of the Settings menu.
You can conveniently dismiss screenshot images from the screen as a side note to that. The main Settings menu also has a little bit of a tweak with the subtle blue color. The top search bar isn’t a long rectangular area spanning the whole screen anymore.
Open the Network Settings and Wi-Fi or the Developer Options menu, and a new toggle switch will be available. It’s smaller, displays a tick and a dash when it’s turned off. Besides, it’s almost the same as Android 11. However, this may change as new updates come.
The new pop-up shortcut menu is now also accessible when you press and hold an app button, which is quite a little tweak to the app icon. The menu is bigger, which takes more screen space so that people can access it more easily.
Media Player Interface and Notifications
The updated media control widget displayed in the down menu when you play music is one of the most prominent updates to your UI. Google has expanded it and has changed the layout to cover the monitor’s entire width, bringing it closer to the center of the screen. More space is also needed on the lock screen when activated.
Now, you can tap the tiny little icon in the widget corner if you play the music locally on your tablet, creating a new playback position pop-up window. You can adjust the music volume here, or a new gadget can be easily coupled like a Bluetooth speaker’s earbuds.
In addition to adjusting the aspect of the media player regulation, notifications have been subtly modified. The designers have also changed the text’s layout and the graphics while visually changing the context and adjusting the transparency. Also, you tap to snub instead of swiping the notification with the new simple snooze control. Special alerts may then also be snoozed for a fixed period.
Other Features
The People Space Widget was leaked earlier on and gave you a very large speed to reach people you care about. It’s now standard 3x2, which is pretty wide, but we expect this to be customizable if it’s available officially.
Additionally, there is now a new one-handed mode that you can enable, making it much simpler for big-screened phones.
Another feature worth noting is the picture-in-picture. For a while, PiP has been present in Android and means that even if you are not in the video app, you can play a small floating video on the phone. With the new controls, you can expand the window without getting to full screen.
There are also adjustments to design in a lot of places with DP2. Whether that’s the widgets list, home screen app labels, the PIN, and pattern unlock on the lock screen or the shades for notifications.
Hidden Features and Rumors
There were many leaks and rumors and confirmed and available features about what the update might include when it is officially released later in the year. Among the rumors are a new design, rolling screenshots, audio-coupled haptic feedback, and restricted networking mode, among others. For these, we will have to wait for an actual update from the developers. All in all, Android 12 might be the update that has been sitting in your wishlist.
