Android 12 – Things You Need to Know About It

Multimedia transcoding

Android 12 Developer Preview 2 introduces advanced multimedia transcoding that helps the application work with the latest video formats such as HEVC and AVIF. Also, this function automatically transcodes the file into a widely supported format.

Updated user interface

Its user interface also has a new look. “In this initial preview, you’ll see changes from the drawer and from the controls to the templates themselves,” Google said on its blog. The company has also tweaked transitions and animations throughout the system to make them smoother. As part of the updates, apps targeting Android 12 will have notifications decorated with customized content with icons and will expand the possibilities to match all other alerts.

New unified API

The Android 12 characteristic allows applications to accept content from sources such as clipboard, keyboard or drag and drop. It will make it easier for users to copy and paste content, such as images and videos, into applications.

Optimized for tablets, televisions and foldable phones

Google is expanding support for Android 12 to large-screen devices like foldable, tablets, and TVs. The first preview of Android 12 for Android TV is also available, but we recommend not installing it on your device if you are not a developer.

Wallpaper based themes

Wallpapers are said to change the colour of system elements to make them more uniform. The software will change the UI colour to the predominant background colour. The changes will get applied to the notification panel, settings menus and lock screen. It could be the new theme system on which Google is working.

Application compatibility

Applications will be more consistent and secure across devices. They have also added the Android Runtime Module (ART) that lets users push updates to the main runtime & libraries on Android 12 devices. It will help improve application runtime performance, manage memory more efficiently and simplify operations of Kotlin, all without requiring a total system upgrade.

Improved privacy controls

Google is also updating its privacy features with Android 12 to make it safer for users with new controls added on identifiers that would allow tracking and safer defaults for app components, among other things. A handful of few more privacy and security features, such as restricted Netlink on MAC, Moder SafeSite cookie behaviours on WebView, and safer handling of intentions, will be released in forthcoming previews.

Custom notification changes

Android 12 changes the look and behaviour of fully customized notifications. Previously, custom notifications could use the entire notification area and provide their layouts and styles. It resulted in anti-patterns that could confuse users or cause design compatibility issues on different devices.
This system applies a standard model that ensures custom notifications have the same decoration as other notifications, such as the notification icon, expandability, application name and collapse ability.

Notifications snooze

There is a new button to snooze unimportant notifications. In older versions of Android, this feature can get accessed by swiping it halfway to the right or left and then tapping the snooze button. You can also choose between repeat periods of 30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours. This feature came in Android Oreo, but the half-swipe gesture limited its use. Specifically, it gets disabled by default, but you can enable it in Settings> Apps & notifications> Notifications> Allow repeated notifications.

Emojis on Screenshot Markup

The screenshot markup menu allows the user to add annotations to the screenshots taken. The markup menu adds an option that lets you add emojis along with other notes or scribbles.

Nearby Share for Wi-Fi Passwords

Android allows users to easily connect to the same Wi-Fi as anyone else by scanning a QR code. This feature was first visible in the beta version of Android Q, but Android 12 now makes it easier to share passwords. It makes the process of connecting to a new Wi-Fi network almost effortless.

Redirect Vibration to Gaming Controllers

We were hoping to see a primary game mode in Android 12, but it’s not there yet. However, Android 12 offers the ability to redirect haptic feedback data from your smartphone to a gamepad or game controller in case you use one. The user should also be able to use the feature with third-party controllers that have a vibration engine.

Permissions Dialog

Google has introduced a much more inspiring permission management feature in Android Q. It’s functional if a user wants to be cautious about how apps use your phone’s sensors. Now with Android 12, the permissions dialogue that appears has been slightly changed. For some apps that need to access your microphone or location, you now have a link to allow “Always Access” in Settings.

Scrolling screenshot support

It was a longtime rumour even before Android 10 made its debut. However, Android 11 disappointed by not including support for scrolling screenshots. The code to make it work is on Android 12. It just isn’t activated yet. Users can already take scrolling screenshots on Android via third-party apps, but the default support would be a welcome addition.

New Bubble Animations

Android’s bubble feature is going to get some UI tweaks with Android 12. Google is operating on new animations for bubbles. There will be a fade/collapse animation when dragging an expanding bubble and a smoother transition between bubbles. In landscape mode, these bubbles will be displayed vertically on the left / right side instead of horizontally on the top.

Media Controls

Android 11 added persistent media controls in the notification step for quick media controls. With Android 12, these multimedia controls are getting more refined. First of all, the media player takes up a slightly larger space than before with a big media illustration and just an icon for the device without its name. Secondly, users can now select which apps show up in the media controls and which ones don’t. You can find this option in Settings> Sound & Vibration> Media.
These were some of the main features of Android 12 Developer Preview 2.