Android 12 will be available soon – here are 6 features we want to see

As impossible as it is to believe, it won’t be long before Google starts talking about Android 12. Obviously, Many months after the public launch, but developer views and public betas will be here before you know it.

The release of the latest Android update is one of the most exciting things we should expect each year and, after the high praise of Android 11, we are incredibly excited to know what Google has in store for us in 2021. The only problem, However, it is that the details in Android 12 are incredibly scarce at the moment.

That being the case, we’ve put together a list of features that we want to see in the latest Android build. These are not things that have been confirmed or denied by Google – but if we had a say in anything, this is what we would be sure of on Android 12.

Redesigned widgets

Widgets have been a thing on Android since the first version in 2008 and, although we have seen subtle improvements in them over the years, the world of widgets remains a wild west of uncertainty. They all look different, many developers ignore them completely, and there has been no significant growth for widgets in a long time.

Right after Apple introduced the home screen widgets with iOS 14, I would love to see Google use this as a catalyst to invest time in updating the widget experience on Android, if not the theme / home screen experience as a whole.

Widgets in their current form are everywhere. Some are incredible, others are terrible, and you have tools like KWGT to create fully customized tools. All of that is fine, but if we are ever going to have a simplified widget experience that seems to have a clear vision behind it, Google needs to come up with guidelines similar to those we see in iOS 14.

I’m not saying that highly personalized widgets need to die, but if Google can introduce best practices for making widgets and the recommended design guidelines, I like to think that we would see greater adoption of them across the operating system. Hell, even simplified widgets in Google apps as an example to follow would be appreciated at this point.

One-handed mode

Despite the resurgence of smaller devices last year, many of the best Android phones are still equipped with huge screens. Large screens are great for multitasking and content consumption, but when it comes to ease of use, challenges arise.

Alex Dobie said he would love to see a one-way mode for the entire system introduced in Android 12 and, although I can’t say that I have thought of that, I fully agree with him.

Companies like Samsung and OnePlus have introduced their own one-handed modes over the years and, while doing the job, it would be great to have a simplified solution integrated directly with Android. It would probably work better, have fewer compatibility issues, and would be a great complement of features for companies that haven’t yet created their own one-handed modes.

Picture-in-picture improvements

Ara Wagoner also collaborated on some important scenes from Android 12, specifically, asking Google to improve picture-in-picture on Android. PiP hasn’t changed much since its launch with Android 8.0 Oreo and, especially with Apple finally adopting it on iOS 14, it’s time for Google to pay more attention to the feature.

Apple started many interesting ideas with its PiP approach, such as being able to easily resize the player and place it off the screen while still listening to the audio. These are two improvements that would really help to embody the image in the image on Android, along with anything else that Google can think of.

It would also be great if Google could find a way to make picture-in-picture a standard feature for each application that plays video content. It’s easier said than done, but if anyone can do it, it’s Google. Fingers crossed!

Adaptive charging for all Android phones

Google brought many interesting features to their Pixel phones as part of the Pixel Feature Drop program, and in the latest December 2020, we were introduced to Adaptive Charging. Adaptive loading seems like a very discreet feature on paper, but when it comes to long-term use, its benefits are substantial.

Many people charge their phones while they sleep, and while this is the most convenient way to refill, it is not exactly ideal for your phone’s battery. Keeping it 100% connected for hours on end can cause faster degradation over time, resulting in worse battery life the longer you hold your phone.

Adaptive loading corrects this. When enabled, it can adjust the charging speed according to its alarms in the Google Clock app. This means that you wake up with a fully charged phone and, with the adjustments made by the feature, your phone gradually reaches that 100% marker in the safest and most efficient way possible.

This is a feature all – not just Pixel owners – could benefit. Alex has already asked Google to implement it on Android 12 as a system-wide feature and I couldn’t agree more.

Scrolling images

After years of patiently waiting, Android 11 finally gave us a system-level screen recording feature. With Android 12, I want to see Google expand its screen capture capabilities with a native scrolling screen capture.

This is another one of those things that third-party Android interfaces have been offering for years, but when it comes to “standard” Android, it is nowhere to be found. Let’s change that, shall we?

Scrolling screenshots aren’t as exciting to talk about, but the fact that they don’t exist on Android as a standard feature yet is kind of hilarious. It’s not something I use all the time, but whenever I’m on a Pixel and need to use it for any reason, not being sure is annoying.

A fun name for dessert

It is very likely that this final order has zero chances of happening, but come on, Google – bring fun names for desserts! The last time we had a tasty treat to accompany a new version of Android was in 2018 with Android 9 Pie and, since then, it has been nothing but monotonous with Android 10, Android 11 and, soon, Android 12.

The move to a more mature and streamlined branding scheme makes sense, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss the whimsical names we expected to see each year.

Things are terrible, Google. Throw us a bone and bring the desserts!

And if you?

That’s what we want to see on Android 12, but now we want to hear from you! Whether practical or surprising feature request, what to do you want to see on Android 12? Comment below and let us know!

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