Android 12

Last updated

Android 12
Version of the Android operating system
Android 12 Logo.svg
Logo used since 2021
Android 12 screenshot (en).png
Android 12 home screen with Pixel Launcher
Developer Google
OS family Android
General
availability 		October 4, 2021;3 years ago (2021-10-04) (on emulated devices) October 19, 2021;3 years ago (2021-10-19) (on Pixel 6 & Pixel 6 Pro)
Latest release 12.0.0_r65 (SSV1.210916.098) [1] / November 4, 2024;28 days ago (2024-11-04)
Kernel type Monolithic (Linux)
Preceded by Android 11
Succeeded by Android 13
Official website www.android.com/android-12/ OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Support status
Supported [2]

Android 12 is the twelfth major release and 19th version of Android, the mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. [3] The first beta was released on May 18, 2021. Android 12 was released publicly on October 4, 2021, through Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and was released to supported Google Pixel devices on October 19, 2021. [4] [5] [6] As of April 2024, it is the oldest Android version still supported via source code patches. [7]

Contents

As of August 2024, Android 12 is the 3rd most widely-used version of Android, with 15% market share (far behind Android 13), [8] with 682 million devices. The first phones to have Android 12 were the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.

History

Android 12's Developer Preview logo Android 12 Developer Preview logo.svg
Android 12's Developer Preview logo

Android 12 (internally codenamed Snow Cone ) [9] was announced in an Android blog posted on February 18, 2021. [10] A developer preview was released immediately, [11] [12] with two additional ones planned the following two months. After that, four monthly beta releases were planned, beginning in May, the last one of them reaching platform stability in August, with general availability coming shortly after that. [13]

The second developer preview was released on March 17, 2021, [14] followed by a third preview on April 21. [15] The first beta build was then released on May 18, 2021. [4] It was followed by beta 2 on June 9, [16] which got a bug-fix update to 2.1 on June 23. [17] The third beta was released on July 14, [18] getting a bug-fix update to 3.1 on July 26. [19] Beta 4 was released on August 11, 2021. [20] A fifth beta, not planned in the original roadmap, was released on September 8, 2021. [21] Android 12's stable version was released on the Android Open Source Project on October 4 before getting its public over-the-air rollout on October 19, coinciding with the launch event for the Pixel 6. [5] [22]

Android 12.1/12L

In October 2021, Google announced Android 12L, an interim release of Android 12 including improvements specific for foldable phones, tablets, desktop-sized screens [23] and Chromebooks, and modifications to the user interface to tailor it to larger screens. It was planned to launch in early 2022. [24] [25] Developer Preview 1 of Android 12L was released in October 2021, followed by Beta 1 in December 2021, Beta 2 in January 2022, and Beta 3 in February 2022. [26] The stable version of Android 12L was released for devices with large screens on March 29, 2022, alongside with the redesigned Chrome logo & icon, It was released as "Android 12.1" for Pixel smartphones on the same date, besides the Pixel 6 & Pixel 6 Pro. [27]

Features

User interface

Android 12 introduces a major refresh to the operating system's Material Design language branded as "Material You", which features larger buttons, increased use of animation, and a new style for home screen widgets. A feature, internally codenamed "monet", [28] allows the operating system to automatically generate a wallpaper color theme (basic color theme for Android 12.1/12L) for system menus and supported apps using the colors of the user's wallpaper. [29] [30]

The smart home and Wallet areas added to the power menu on Android 11 have been relocated to the notification shade, while Google Assistant is now activated by holding the power button. [29] Android 12 features native support for taking scrolling screenshots. [29] [31]

The screen magnifier feature now allows partial magnification via a floating window, and can also be configured to follow text inputs. [32] [33]

A splash screen is automatically generated for every installed app, which can be customised by app developers. [34] The Core Splashscreen Jetpack library backports this functionality for older Android versions. On Android 12.1/12L, the quick buttons were moved to a bottom–right corner of the screen. Also it brought many changes to the lock screen clock. It moved from left of the screen horizontally to the center of the screen stacked.

Platform

Performance improvements have been made to system services such as the window and package managers. [29] [31] The Android Runtime has been added to Project Mainline, allowing it to be serviced via Play Store. [31]

Android 12 adds support for spatial audio, and MPEG-H 3D Audio, and supports transcoding of HEVC video for backwards compatibility with apps which do not support it. [31] A new API known as HapticGenerator allows the OS to generate haptic feedback from audio on compatible devices. [35]

A "rich content insertion" API eases the ability to transfer formatted text and media between apps, such as via the clipboard. [31] Third party app stores now have the ability to update apps without constantly asking the user for permission. [36]

Privacy

OS-level machine learning functions are sandboxed within the "Android Private Compute Core", which is expressly prohibited from accessing networks. [29]

Apps requesting location data can now be restricted to having access only to "approximate" location data rather than "precise". [29] Controls to prevent apps from using the camera and microphone system-wide have been added to the quick settings toggles. An indicator will also be displayed on-screen if they are active. [29]

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References

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  2. ↑ "Android Security Bulletin—February 2023". Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Android 12". Android Developers. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
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  5. 1 2 "Android 12 has been released to the Android Open Source Project". Engadget. October 4, 2021. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
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  28. ↑ "Android 12 automatically themes your UX from your wallpaper". xda-developers. May 18, 2021. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
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  31. 1 2 3 4 5 Bohn, Dieter (February 18, 2021). "Android 12 developer preview is available now with many under-the-hood updates". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
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  34. ↑ Hindy, Joe; Walker, Andy; Brown, C. Scott; Westenberg, Jimmy (August 6, 2024). "Android 12 features: Everything you need to know". Android Authority. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  35. ↑ Hildenbr, Jerry (March 1, 2021). "Android 12 features we love: Haptics and audio can work together". Android Central. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Android 12 will finally let alternative app stores update apps on their own". xda-developers. May 20, 2021. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
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