Google has finally released the first Android 12 beta for Pixel devices and select devices from partner OEMs at I/O 2021. The update brings a wave of new features and fixes to enhance the user experience even further.So lets discuss about the top feature which are with Android 12.
Improved Notification Shade
As is the case with all Android updates, Google has made major improvements to the notifications shade on Android 12. And well, it’s safe to say that a lot has changed since the developer preview builds. Early signs of Google’s Material You design language have shown up in the first beta build, and it primarily changes the look and feel of the notification shade and quick settings panel.
Everything is now more rounded, and Google has gone for an opaque notification shade background. Moreover, there is a snooze button in each notification to quickly snooze them for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 2 hours. This is one of the best and biggest changes in Android 12.
Redesigned Quick Settings
The Quick Settings panel is where you will notice a key radical design overhaul on Android 12. Android has done away with the usual compact QS toggle and has introduced rather chunky toggles with text. However, there’s good news. While the new toggles might look a little (a lot) bigger than the current ones, you get more toggles on one page.
To recall, Android 11 infamously reduced the number of rows on the QS page from three to two, which resulted in having just 6 buttons instead of 9 at the top. With the new Android 12 beta 1, however, you get a total of 8 buttons comprising of 4 rows with two buttons on each column.
In addition, the toggles in the “off” state are now a variant of the system accent as opposed to gray color. For instance, if your system accent color is blue, the inactive QS tiles will now have a pale blue color, thereby improving consistency. Another change is the addition of a QS toggle for the new “Extra dim” accessibility feature to quickly reduce brightness.
Media Player Revamp
The persistent media player
has received a major facelift with Android 12. The album artwork gets
more emphasis, and the overall size of media controls is now bigger than
before. Plus, the device name in the media player UI has been replaced
by an icon at the top-right corner, which on tapping opens a pop-up to
help you quickly pair a Bluetooth headphone when you tap on it.
The media player respects the system accent color and no longer picks the accent from the album artwork. As you can see below, you get rounded corners on the media player too.
Another much-needed improvement is the ability to disable specific music apps from quick settings media controls. You now have toggles to choose what apps show up in the media player interface. The path to access these toggles is “Settings -> Sound and vibration -> Media”. The app disappears from the media player interface as soon as you remove it from the recent apps switcher.
One-Handed Mode
One-handed mode is finally here on Android 12. Google first added the feature in the second developer preview. The feature resembles Apple iOS 14’s reachability that displays content only on the bottom half of your screen. You can enable one-handed mode on Android 12 from Settings -> System -> Gestures -> One-handed mode.
Once enabled, swipe down from the bottom portion of the display to activate the feature. Similarly, you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen or tap on the unused area to switch back to the standard view. There’s also an option to disable the one-hand mode feature when switching between apps. Check out the Android 12 one-handed mode in action right here:
Moreover, you can configure one-handed mode to turn off when it is not in use. You get four timeout options, including never, 4 seconds, 8 seconds, and 12 seconds.
Surprisingly, I found one-handed mode implementation to be more stable on previous developer preview builds. The first beta build has some issues when it comes to showing the entire content when you are in one-handed mode. But it should get fixed in upcoming betas, making it one of the best new features for Android 12 users.
Redesigned Lock Screen
You might have seen the new Android 12 lock screen at Google I/O 2021 last night, and it is already live on the first beta build. When you don’t have any pending notifications, you get a huge clock as the lock screen alongside a tiny date indicator:
However, this isn’t always the case. When you have an active notification, you get a more compact lock screen interface with the clock placed to the top-left corner of the screen.
Another minor yet noticeable change is a new look for PIN and pattern input UI on the lock screen. The emergency call button is more prominent and matches the system accent now. Those who use pattern locks will notice that the trail while drawing the pattern is thicker in Android 12.
Revamped Settings App
Google has embraced the OneUI-esque design for the Settings app that’s better suited for one-hand usage. It looks a lot cleaner and clutter-free, thanks to the removal of text underneath each setting menu. In addition, you get toggles with pill-shaped state indicators across various high-level components in Settings.
New Sparkly Ripple Animation
One feature new with the first Android 12 beta is a cool sparkly ripple effect animation that appears when you tap on different menus and toggles. There’s no customization for the effect yet, but it will be enabled by default across the UI. You can check out the feature in action below:
Share Wi-Fi Passwords with Nearby Share
With Android 12, Google is improving the ability to share Wi-Fi passwords with other Android devices. Going forward, you can use Nearby Share to share Wi-Fi passwords. The option to share passwords via Nearby Share appears on the QR code generation page, which you can access by tapping the Share button of a Wi-Fi connection in Settings.
Revamped Widgets Page
Google has long ignored the existence of widgets on Android. However, with iOS 14 gaining widget support, the company is trying to improve the widget experience on Android 12. With Android 12, you get a new widget picker UI. Notably, the new UI is compact and shows the number of widgets offered by an app. You can even search for widgets from the top search bar.
Further, with the rollout of Material You design later this year, we can expect many app makers to redesign their widgets in line with the new design language. If this proves to be true, we can call Material You widgets one of the best new features in Android 12.
Splash Screen for Apps
Introduced with the third developer preview, Android 12 shows a splash screen for all apps in an attempt to improve the overall consistency throughout the operating system. This is a neat touch and a subtle UX improvement to make the OS feel more fluid.
Hold for Assistant
Google has added a toggle that lets you trigger the Assistant by holding the power button. As of this writing, based on the first Android 12 beta, the feature replaces power menu controls and cards & passes. It’s safe to assume that the company will figure out a way to accommodate these features in upcoming builds.
Markup Tool Improvements
Apart from these changes, Google has improved its markup tool. You can now add text to images. In addition, you can now import any image from your gallery to the markup tool and edit it. To do so, share the image and tap on the “Edit” button present in the share sheet.
While the first developer preview build had also added emoji support to the Markup tool, Google has removed the ability to add emojis in DP2 and it’s still missing on the first beta. We could expect emoji support to make a comeback in future builds.
Wallpaper-based Theming System
Google has been working on a wallpaper-based theming system code named ‘Monet’ on Android 12. The new theming system changes the accent based on your wallpaper and applies it throughout the interface. However, it is not live in the first Android 12 beta.
Since the company has already announced the feature at Google I/O as part of the Material You design, this should get enabled by default in future builds. It will first arrive on Google Pixel devices, and then roll out to other OEM devices throughout the year. You can take a look at the changes in the GIF below:
Privacy Dashboard and Privacy Indicators
Google is making it easier for users to keep track of apps that accessed permissions, including camera, microphone, location, and more. With Android 12, the company is adding a “Privacy Dashboard” that shows all the apps that have accessed your data recently along with timestamps. It’s not currently live on the beta build, but it should come in the upcoming builds.
First spotted in the leaked screenshots, Google will bring privacy indicators to help you identify when your camera or microphone is in use. You will also get two new QS toggles for removing app access to these sensors. Until that happens, you can use apps like Access Dots to replicate the feature on your Android device right now.
Scrolling Screenshots
Google is also working to bring native support for scrolling screenshots on Android 12. That means you can finally stop relying on one of those scrolling screenshot apps on Android to take long screenshots. It is hidden by default in all the builds released so far.
App Installation Indicator on Home Screen
In a move that directly copies iOS, Google may start showing icons for pending app installations on your home screen. The feature is not widely available and was first spotted by Twitter user Brae
Clipboard Access Alerts
Much like iOS 14’s clipboard access alert, Google is working to add a toast notification to notify you whenever an app accesses your clipboard. This feature is not live just yet, but Google has highlighted this change in one of its developer sessions.
Game Dashboard
In the second developer preview, Google seems to have added a Game Dashboard widget. This feature will help gamers start a live stream via YouTube Live, take screenshots, record the screen, view the FPS counter, and activate DND mode.
People Space Widgets
Google continues working on the conversation/ people space widget seen in the leaked Android 12 document. Using these widgets, you can track recent messages, missed calls, and activity statuses for contacts you choose. Here’s how the widget looks like as of the second Android 12 developer preview:
Face-based Auto-rotation
The Android 12 feature I’m personally excited about is face-based auto-rotation. It utilizes the front camera to detect when you are looking at the screen and adjusts the screen orientation accordingly. It would come in handy when you are using the phone in bed, hopefully eliminating any unwanted auto-rotations to landscape mode. Those can be pretty annoying.
Double Tap Back Gestures
Google may bring double tap back gestures with Android 12, at least on Pixel 5. If you are using a Pixel 5, you can access the feature from “Settings -> System -> Gestures.” Once enabled, you can use the double-tap gesture to open Assistant, take screenshots, control media playback, open recent apps switcher, and check notifications.
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