Android 12: news, leaks, launch, features and rumors!

Android 11 was an update bigger than the sum of its parts. Smaller features, such as chat bubbles, conversation notifications and an integrated screen recorder, don’t sound as impressive in themselves. Combined in a perfect package, however, Android 11 was a great update for Google’s mobile operating system.

We are now in 2021 and, before you know it, we will be playing with the first preview of the Android 12 developer. The details of the next major update are still few and far between, but even so, this will not stop we speculate and do some grounded assumptions about where we’re going next.

From feature rumors, interface changes, availability and more – here’s everything we know about Android 12 so far!

While the release time for Android versions has changed over the years, the latter have been fairly consistent. Here are the dates of the last four releases:

• Android 8.0 – August 21, 2017
• Android 9 – August 6, 2018
• Android 10 – September 3, 2019
• Android 11 – September 8, 2020

With these dates in mind, we would assume that the public version of Android 12 will be released in August or September. A September launch seems more likely between the two, as workflows are still restricted with Google employees working from home.

It is possible that Google will have to push Android 12 already in October or November, but from where we are now, we would anticipate a launch window in September.

Android 12 Beta

Before we even think about a public release, however, we need to talk about the availability of the beta. Developer views and public betas are a big factor for any Android update and, again, with Android 12, that won’t change.

The developer’s first previews for Android 10 and Android 11 were released in February, and unless something drastic is going on behind the scenes, we expect Android 12 to follow these steps. This initial developer preview is often quite barebones when it comes to new features and design elements, which means that we will need to wait until later builds before we have a complete idea of ​​what Android 12 will look like.

Google generally shows all of its cards at the time it announces the public beta of a new version of Android and, although this normally happens in May, it was postponed until June last year as a result of COVID-19. We are crossing our fingers: the first public beta is released in May, again, but don’t be surprised if we meet with another date in June.

Android 12 Features

It’s one thing to talk about when a new Android update will be released, but it’s a lot more fun to discuss what potential features we can see if you ask us. While not much has been shared about the features of Android 12 yet, there is one we can look forward to.

Thanks to some excavations by 9to5Google, it looks like Google is preparing a specific Android 12 feature for Pixel that would allow you to double-tap the back of your phones to perform certain actions. In addition to acting as another shortcut to open the Google Assistant, the double tap can also be used to postpone alarms, take a screenshot, etc.

This feature was detected in the betas of Android 11 and came with the code name “Columbus”. Obviously, he never made it to the public, but looking ahead, on Android 12, he could finally have his chance to shine.

As for the more general features that are not exclusive to Pixel phones, we will have to wait and see what we have. It seems likely that Google will add even more controls / settings for app permissions. A finer adjustment of notifications would not come as a surprise, and there should be a ton of tweaks behind the scenes that allow the best Android phones to be even better.

Android 12 Interface

We haven’t seen a major overhaul of Android since the move from Holo to Material Design in 2014. There have been a lot of minor changes and tweaks since then, with the era of “Google Material Theme”, we are currently just being an evolution than Material Design introduced. With that in mind, some people may believe it is time for another major design change.

While it can be fun to talk about a whole new look for Android, don’t hold your breath for Android 12 to shake things up a lot about it. The current design language looks good, has no functional flaws, and is appropriate for the mature operating system that Android is today.

It is entirely possible that we will see some updates for the Pixel Launcher and other UI elements of Pixel phones specifically, but this will likely be the extension of any design changes. Especially with Samsung charting its own path with One UI and OnePlus promoting its own design with OxygenOS, completely redoing Android’s central interface doesn’t seem like a logical area for Google to focus many of its efforts on Android 12.