The tech giant has released two Android 12 developer previews and the third one is expected soon. Although these serve as early builds designed for app designers, one can get a rough idea of the upcoming Android 12 features, release date, and compatible devices.
Android 12: Expected release date and compatible devices
Google has already released the second developer preview version of Android 12, and is expected to roll out the first public beta version in May. The search giant is expected to host its annual Google IO 2021 event. It will take place between May 18 to May 20. It is expected that the company will fully launch Android 12 features by the end of 2021. Android 12 features will be first made available in Google Pixel phones, including Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, and Pixel 5. In case you don’t own a Google phone, you will then have to wait for your smartphone’s manufacturer to roll out Android 12 features.
Expected Android 12 features
Increased efficiency in video and image compression to save dataEasier copy and pastingUpgraded support for tablets, foldable phones, and TVEnhanced audio featuresNew colour reduction optionVariations to gesture navigationRestructured notification menuAbility to block repeated notifications
The new Android 12 is expected to have native expanded screenshot support. Although this feature is already a part of several Android phones, it will now be supported in Android 12. This will allow all Android users to take a screenshot, and at the same time, a different activity will open up with an expanded view of the page, allowing users to pick the area they’d like to capture manually. There might also be an addition of ‘App Pairs’ feature. This feature is Google’s new take on multitasking and switching apps. It is expected to be an improved version of the split-screen feature to enable users to swap the location of each app in the split-screen simply by double-tapping the centre of the screen. 9to5Google has reported that one of the Android 12 features will also include a revamped screenshot markup menu that will enable users to add annotations and emojis to the screenshots. The upcoming Android OS is also expected to offer improved one-handed modes. The upcoming Android OS is also expected to have a redesigned setting, menus, and a new opaque background mode for the notification panel to match the system theme. The lock screen media player is also expected to undergo a few alterations.
Android 12 security features
The upcoming OS could allow users to block apps from using the camera and microphone. The new Android 12 may even allow users to share Wi-Fi passwords to nearby phones. As for the privacy Android 12 feature, users can expect alerts on the apps that are accessing the clipboard’s content. It is important to note that Google is currently working on Android 12 features. As many of these features are in the testing stage, we will have to wait for the company to officially roll out Android 12 to get a better idea.
