Last week, we published images that represented major changes to the user interface in the next release of Google’s Android operating system, Android 12. These images originated from a document that Google shared with its OEM partners and were probably mockups designed for show the enhanced features of Android 12 themes. In the few images we got, we just glimpsed the notification panel UI, the home screen, privacy settings and the Google Camera app. Although we have assumed that all changes to the user interface were the result of the new theme system, it appears that there may be further changes to the interface in progress.
Initial design mockups featuring parts of the Android 12 UI.
To begin, we learned that Google has internally dubbed some of its notification UI changes as the start of the “NEXT material path”. Google’s Material Design guidelines have evolved significantly since its initial introduction. More recently, guidelines have evolved to encourage companies to adopt their own identities in addition to Material Design. For example, Google applications generally follow the company’s “Material Theme” design. Although we don’t know exactly what changes to the “NEXT” design material will bring, they can be important considering what we saw in the Android 12 leak last week. We doubt that “NEXT” Material is the real name of the new design guidelines; after all, Google never referred to the material theme changes as “Material Design 2.0” externally, although we know that this is how they referred to it internally. We also don’t know if NEXT’s material changes will include more than just notifications. However, we know that Google has more UI changes reserved for Android 12.
For example, Google is preparing to adjust the layout of Always On Display and Lock Screen on Android 12. Some of the changes under development include changing the notification icons for Always On Display so that they are no longer centered on the new layout, changing the clock view and smart space to be aligned to the top, moving the bottom logout button and owner information at the bottom of the lock screen instead of the keyboard view and adding the text of the Running Pixel to the rotating text on the Lockscreen. There may also be new AOD / lock screen transitions, but we don’t know what they will look like. However, these layout and transition changes are unlikely to be present in Android 12 Developer Preview builds, as Google is preparing to hide these changes using a “GX” (Google Experience?) Overlay.
There are several other changes to the lock screen user interface under development for Android 12. It is said that Google is finally adjusting the pattern lock user interface used for the lock screen. They are also working to integrate Android’s device controls feature into a dialog box on the lock screen, accessible from an “accessibility” area at the bottom of the keyboard.
Left: Android lock pattern UI. Right: Android device controls UI.
Google can also finally enable additional lock screen clock options on Android 12, a feature that has been in development since Android 10. One of the most prominent changes in the feature under development is the addition of a gradient color for the TypeClock face that is adjusted based on the encoded times.
Text lock screen clock
As we saw in the images that leaked from Android 12 last week, major changes are underway for the notification panel. The most prominent changes stem from the new wallpaper-based thematic system, code-named “monet”. The specific theme shown in the leaked images can be called “Silk” and can serve as a Google representation for the enhanced Android 12 theme system. References to a “Silky Home” appear in various places internally and it appears that the theme does part of the “SilkFX” application. The new “Silk” style will also be compatible with Android for TVs (ie Google TV / Android TV), although we don’t know what it will look like on TVs. We learned that Google is also testing changes to the user interface, such as a thicker brightness slider in the notification panel; reduced horizontal margins, filling and dividing height; and possibly a two-column notification tab. We still don’t have images showing any of these changes.
Google is also testing a change to the Quick Settings panel that could be controversial. In Android 12, Google is preparing to move the labels of the QS blocks to the side. Prototyping of this feature began in late December, but it appears that the feature was completed earlier this month. When enabled, QS blocks are displayed in only two columns. We’re not sure what this will look like, but Android 11’s changes to the density of quick settings were already controversial – any further reduction in the number of quick setting blocks shown on a single page will undoubtedly be even more so.
Android 11 introduced a media player in the notification tab, reducing the number of QS blocks shown in the expanded state.
Next, we’re seeing mentions of a “mailbox” feature that Google is experiencing. These “mailboxes” appear to be a new way to place applications in a frame / window and will have adjustable rounded corners and a configurable background color. We are not sure what this will be used for, however.
For third-party apps that don’t have their own home screens, Android 12 can generate a standard home screen window that is light or dark based on the current DayNight theme setting. This can be part of a broader effort to improve the application’s startup experience.
Finally, to improve Android system-level theme resources, Android’s Runtime Resource Overlay (RRO) is getting a major update. RROs are traditionally APK packages that need to be installed on the device before being activated, but Android 12 can now generate RROs that are not APK right away. It will be interesting to see how this is used, but we are assuming that this will open up the ability to generate many custom themes that do not need to be installed as system level applications. Currently, most theme packages that use the RRO / OMS API are installed as static packages on read-only partitions. Generating RRO packages in real time may be what makes Android 12’s new “monet” theme system a possibility.