Before the Android 12 developer’s first preview arrived, some leaked models suggested that we’d do a major redesign with wallpaper-based themes, a new notification tab and chat widgets. Most of these features have already been found hidden in the developer’s first view, and now we are also taking a look at the conversation widgets thanks to XDA.
The changes were spotted by XDA Forums member and Android application developer Kieron Quinn, who managed to activate the widget through reverse engineering. The widget is called “People Space” while in development, and Quinn was able to confirm that it currently pulls the latest chat partners from the Google messaging app, although it now does not display the conversation itself. It also doesn’t work with third-party apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger yet.
The templates we saw before the Android 12 developer’s first preview give us a better idea of what’s possible with conversation widgets. You can fill your home screen with widgets and monitor multiple conversations and activities at the same time, including Facebook Messenger chats, missed calls and calendar events. Support for third-party applications has also been highlighted in internal documents obtained by XDA, and Google currently plans to make the conversation widget a mandatory part of Android 12 for all manufacturers, so you may not even need a Pixel smartphone to take advantage of it. .
Android 12 models were leaked.
For more information on the launch of Android 12, check out our announcement post detailing what’s new here. If you want to install the developer view on your own device, find out how in our Android 12 download guide.