Here’s what’s leaked on Android 12 so far

Ahead of the Android 12 Developer Preview launch, which could be imminent, here’s a recap of all the Android 12 leaks we’ve seen so far.

Normally, we learn about the bigger features of the next version of Android when the first version of Developer Preview is released, with smaller changes appearing in subsequent updates. This year, a significant amount of information about Android 12 has been leaked or appeared in public source code ahead of the Developer Preview, which is likely to begin this month.

To help you keep tabs on what’s to come with the next version of Google’s mobile operating system, we’ve rounded up all of the various Android 12 leaks into one hub, which we’ll keep updated.

Everything we know about Android 12

Android 12 dessert

Every major version of Android, since Cupcake in 2009, uses a dessert name that begins with a next letter of the alphabet. While this practice publicly ended with Android 10 – which would have been named “Queens Cake” – Google continued to use these dessert names internally. For example, Android 11 was “Red Velvet Cake” – a fact that appeared in a fun Google Android Virtual Statue Easter Egg for 2020.

As noted by XDA, the internal name of Android 12’s dessert is “Snow Cone”. Use this information as you wish.

Design mockups with leaks

More interestingly, mockups have been leaked showing what Android 12 should look like, and what we’re seeing is enough. radical redesign. You can see images of this leak scattered throughout this article, but it’s important to note that we don’t know for sure if they describe what Android 12 will look like when we finally see it. These are not screenshots, but are simply artist interpretations of a particular design that Google is considering.

Thematic system

One thing you might notice throughout the leaked Android 12 design mockups is that instead of the usual white or black colourways used on Pixel phones, we find a primary color best described as ‘sand’. This is due to an in-depth theming system that is expected to debut with Android 12.

Android 12’s theme system should offer you a few different primary colors, from which your theme will be built. More interestingly, Android app developers will be able to redesign their app based on the color of your chosen theme, if they so choose.

“NEXT material”

Of course, there is much more to Android 12 design mockups than just a theme system. There’s also a massive collection of smaller edits like notification cards with much more rounded corners, new shapes and spacing for quick settings tiles and more.

According to XDA, these can come together to form a larger whole internally called “Material NEXT”. From what we can piece together, it’s possible that this could point to a third generation of Material Design from Google after the original 2014 redesign and 2018’s “Material Theming” redesign. It is also possible that this “Material NEXT” simply refers to updates to the use of Material Design by Android’s built-in apps and user interface.

Conversations Widgets

Another aspect that stands out from the leaked mockups is that Android 12 can add special “Conversations” widgets for use on the home screen. Each of these widgets seems to represent something like a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, or a missed call you should probably come back to. Details are a bit scarce at the moment, but it seems in line with Google’s efforts to “create a people-centric operating system.”

One-hand mode

For those with larger phones, Android 12 may bring a native “one-handed mode” that will vertically shrink your phone’s screen, putting everything at your fingertips. However, unlike most versions of one-handed mode which reduce both height and width, it looks like Android 12 can alone reduce the height.

Privacy enhancements

Taking inspiration from iOS, Android 12 seems to be working on a variety of improvements to help you be more aware of your privacy. In the upper right corner, you will apparently find a privacy indicator which may appear in orange or green, letting you know that an app is using or has used your camera or microphone recently.

In addition to the privacy indicator, it has been disclosed that Android 12’s Settings app will get a revamped privacy page where you can outright turn off your phone’s camera, microphone, and location sensors.

Scrolling screenshots

In 2019, Google confirmed that scrolling screenshots – where your phone takes one screenshot, scrolls down, takes another, and puts the two (or more) together – would indeed be available on Android. as a native feature. So far this has not happened with Android 10 or 11, but according to XDA, Google has been working hard to scroll through the screenshots, which may be ready to go with this year’s release.

Picture-in-picture enhancements

With Android 11, Google added the ability to resize your picture window in the floating picture by grabbing it in the corner and dragging it. For Android 12, according to XDA, picture-in-picture windows can be pinched to resize precisely or double-tapped to quickly scale to maximum size.

Additionally, it has been disclosed that picture-in-picture windows can provide a way to “hide” the window mostly off-screen so that you can see more of your currently active application. With a simple touch, your hidden window will pop out.

Application pairs

Android 12 is ready to rearrange the split screen with ‘app pairs’

With the rise of foldable and dual-screen devices, Android 12 has been leaked to include a new form of split screen called “App Pairs”. In the Application Pairs system, you should be able to treat two separate applications as a “task” in your recent applications view, which allows you to quickly switch from one application pair to another single application. It’s unclear whether Android 12’s app pairs will also offer quick shortcuts to a particular pair like Samsung’s app pairs.

Our team created a mockup of what we think the Android 12 App Pairs system could look like.

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Game mode

Between the variety of games offered through Google Play Games and the growing wealth of game streaming services like Stadia and Xbox Game Pass, games on Android have never been greater. To cope with this growth, Android 12 could bring a dedicated “game mode” option, according to XDA. Specifically, a “GameManager” has been discovered which is listed as a “Game-related Feature Management Service”. For now, Android 12’s potential “game mode” remains a mystery.

Reduce the brightness

As a minor point of information, XDA reported that Android 12 will get a “Reduce Brightness” tile in Quick Settings. From what has been discovered, “Reduce Brightness” appears to be an accessibility feature intended for the visually impaired.

Hibernate apps

While flagship phones are constantly evolving in storage space, not everyone in the world has the luxury of an expensive high-capacity phone. To help reduce the amount of storage used on your phone, it has been reported that Android 12 may introduce a way for apps to be “hibernated” when not actively in use. Details are still a bit scarce on how this hibernation works.

Third Party App Store Improvements

This particular tidbit isn’t a leak, but it’s still a welcome improvement on Android. Google shared last year that it was listening to feedback from Android app developers and would make it easier to use a third-party app store – something that isn’t the Play Store or the Galaxy Store. , like Epic Games Store – on Android 12.

Google hasn’t shared details on how it would work, but it should be a good compromise between the open nature of Android and Google’s desire to protect people from malware.

Android 12 features for Pixel phones

In addition to the broader Android 12 features that are expected to become available to owners of virtually all phones benefiting from the update, Google appears to have prepared a suite of exclusive features for their Pixel phones.

Double tap gesture

The biggest improvement that has been leaked for Pixel phones is that Android 12 is expected to bring the double-tap gesture that we saw earlier when developing with Android 11. Codenamed “Columbus”, the double-tap gesture of Android 12 should let you do things like open the Google Assistant, play / pause music, open the notification panel, and more.

Face-based automatic rotation

Pixel phones are also expected to get a new option for auto-rotate in Android 12, which uses the camera to check which way your face is turned. Essentially, if you’re lying on your side and holding your phone on your side, your face and your phone should be turned the same, and Android 12 will know you want to be in portrait mode.

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