On Thursday, the next version of Android officially began its cycle, although it is still in its early stages: the first Developer Preview version of Android 12 has arrived and it reveals a lot about the next update. major day of Google’s smartphone operating system.
Frankly, there are too many new features to cover in one post, but we’ll make a few notable mentions here.
There is a one-handed mode that is not yet activated, but the feature seems to be on its way to the final version of Android 12.
First look at one-handed mode settings on Android 12 – confirmed it’s in progress! https://t.co/QKBeO9xlTM
– Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) February 18, 2021
Unfortunately, the one-handed mode successfully activated by @MishaalRahman Very much like the accessibility of iOS which briefly lowers the top of the screen halfway so you can access the UI.
Here’s Android 12’s one-handed mode – fully functional. Unfortunately, it’s like Apple’s accessibility (vertical reduction) rather than OHM on most OEM software (horizontal and vertical reduction). pic.twitter.com/IznRVHTgPu
– Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) February 18, 2021
Picture-in-picture resizing is now much easier. Rather than sliding a finger across the corner of the floating frame, you can pinch to resize the frame, and the UI is more forgiving as to where you drag and drop the frame.
Take two, this time with the taps displayed. pic.twitter.com/Rawtccag05
– Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) February 18, 2021
The new media player controls that were introduced with Android 11 will currently display all of the media apps you’ve recently used. A new menu will be implemented to let you decide which apps will have permission to show media controls here.
Source: XDA Developers
Android 12 adds a faster way to activate SOS. Rather than going into the power menu and doing it from there, a new shortcut lets you trigger SOS with five presses of the power key. Easier way to call emergency services and notify emergency contacts
Android 12 will let you call 911 just by pressing the power button (androidpolice.com)
Pending notifications is not new to Android for other OEMs, but you will be able to do this now on Android 12. A snooze button in the notification will allow you to reset the notification to let you know later.
Source: Android font
Snoozing notifications becomes more convenient with Android 12 (androidpolice.com)
Scrolling screenshots are now coming in stock on Android. The feature is not implemented in the DP1, but when enabled it works, although it still has a few bugs to fix.
The scrolling screenshots are still a bit choppy / broken, but it actually works! (It’s not enabled by default, so you won’t see it when updating.) pic.twitter.com/7ih2zQgvZk
– Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) February 18, 2021
The screenshot editor also receives updates. You will now be able to add your own text and emoji stickers, in addition to being able to write and highlight parts of the screenshot.
Source: Android font
The user interface generally looks the same on the surface, but there are plenty of tweaks, changes and new features coming with Android 12, including improvements and refinements to existing features. Visually, a light blue tint is visible on many menu screens and it’s not clear if this is going to be Android’s new theme or if it’s just for previews.
In addition, the night theme menus are no longer purely black but rather almost black. We know that pure black technically saves energy by turning off these pixels on OLED panels. This type of economy is not possible with LCD panels.
Source: Android font. Light theme (left) and night theme (right)
Google is making several improvements to its existing features rather than just stacking new features. We’re excited to see the progress of Android 12 and see what changes apply to the final public versions. Android 12 will likely debut with the successor to the Pixel 5 between Q3 and Q4 of this year.
Chances are you’ll be excited to try the new Developer Preview, but we don’t recommend installing it on your primary device. This is more of a proof of concept and best reserved as an exploratory version for app developers.
Via Twitter and Android Police
