While we are still waiting for the major redesign of Android 12 to arrive, Google is also working on numerous other minor visual changes, and that includes this last adjustment. In Developer Preview 2, the media player now takes hints of accent color from the system, instead of trying to match the album cover, as it did previously.
Left: Android 12 DP1 (which generally matches the appearance of Android 11). Right: Android 12 DP2.
In the examples above, predefined “styles” with font and color combinations show that the Android 12 DP2 media player responds to these color suggestions to adjust the background, while Android 12 DP1 (and Android 11) inherits a color determined by album art.
This is not the first change related to the highlight color on Android 12. The new, thicker unlock pattern that debuted with DP2 also follows this cue. An internal project called “monet” may also bring out accent colors based on dynamic wallpapers in the future – or at least Google is working on the feature, although it is not yet enabled in any public views.
Various colors, visible on the lock screen.
The color behavior based on the previous album cover actually dates back to Android 8.0 Oreo, long before we even had more Android 11 tweaks in the media player. As usual, this change may undergo adjustments in the future or even a reversal before the final and stable release of Android 12, but given the similarity with Google’s apparent vision for Android 12, I doubt that will happen.
For more information on Android 12, check out our ongoing coverage of the series here or check our updated changelog regularly and check back later. If you want to install the developer preview on your own device, find out how in our Android 12 download guide.