The first Android 12 Developer Preview was released last week and according to XDA’s Mishaal Rahman, it loads a hidden UI similar to Samsung’s One UI. For those unfamiliar with One UI, the software is designed to bring interface elements like buttons, toggles, checkboxes, icons, sliders, progress bars and much closer to the bottom of the screen. This way, users will not have to perform calisthenic exercises with their fingers to touch one of these elements at the top of the screen.
A tweet from @ThatJoeHindy reveals that, by enabling a “Casa Silky” hidden feature flag, a new system configures the UI surfaces with elements placed near the bottom of the screen. Go to adb shell settings to put global settings_silky_home true. The UI version with the flag enabled has the content moved down towards the bottom of the screen to allow one-handed use.
The Android 12 UI without the flag enabled
There is no guarantee that the “Casa Silky” mode will be part of the stable version of Android 12. More exciting, however, is the possibility that providing for a larger Android screen like this feature is a sign that Google will offer a Pixel 6 XL model this year. So far, there is no indication that this is on the cards and there are other large-screen Android phones that can use a UI with more accessible elements. But many of these are Samsung models already served by Samsung’s One UI. Eliminate Samsung from the equation and the odds increase in favor of a Pixel 6 XL.
With the flag on, the Android 12 setup UI looks like Samsung’s One UI