During the I/O 2021 event, Google released the first Beta version of Android 12 for Pixels and compatible devices. Android 12 Beta delivers all the upcoming features expected from the next generation Android OS including a new Material You UI, which comes with redesigned widgets and the ability to extract various colours from the wallpaper for use across the entire OS to set the lock screen, new widgets, volume controls, notification shade and more.
There have also been some UI design modifications to the to the notification shade, quick settings, power button and others to make them more intuitive. The new privacy dashboard will ensure more transparency and give the user more control over what type, the amount and frequency of information (camera, location, and microphone) to share with apps. From the dashboard, users can revoke app permissions rights and there is a new indicator at the top right of the status bar to show when apps are accessing the camera and microphone.
In the same vein, users can now share approximate location permissions with apps instead of precise ones. With Android Private Compute Core, user’s information will be inaccessible to AI-based features such as Live Caption, Now Playing, and Smart Reply. Other features expected include App Hibernation feature to put dormant apps in ‘hibernation’ mode, location-free Bluetooth scanning, double tap gesture, and one-handed mode option.
There are several features not highlighted yet, however, they will be fully detailed in the final Android 12 release scheduled for Q3 2021 (this could be another September release date just like Android 10 and Android 11).
