Although there is a huge list of devices that didn't even receive Android 11, Google didn't stop, after all, it's already clear, new year, new Android available. If you haven't received Android 11 yet, know that it's not Google's fault, it's your device manufacturer's fault, go there and yell at him.
With the new version, new features arrive, but let's breathe for a moment, after all, what Google has made available is the first version of the developer version of Androi 12, so there's a lot to come.
Android 12 will bring well-known features natively
Android 12
We have already reported here the new interface design, features present in versions modified by manufacturers, coming natively with the new google system and other changes that aim to improve the user experience.
As previously leaked, notifications, for example, are being reworked. Not only that, but they were made to be faster and more functional. Also, Google will update animations and transitions in the UI, making them smoother.
Navigation is also changing a bit, or at least in immersive mode. When you're watching a video or doing something that requires a full-screen experience, Google says it will still protect you from accidental taps that trigger notifications.
There are many media-related improvements. On the one hand, Google is adding platform support for the AV1 image file format (AVIF), which has higher quality than JPEG, but the file sizes are not larger. Android 12 is also getting multi-channel audio improvements, with support for MPEG-H which has mixers, resamplers and effects that are optimized for up to 24 channels.
There's also a new unified API that will allow apps to get files from the clipboard, keyboard, and drag-and-drop. Google said it is working to update more of Android through the Play Store as it continues to fight fragmentation in the ecosystem.
With Android 12, the Android Runtime module can be updated via the Play Store, so you can really improve your app's performance without requiring a system update.
Android TV
There's also an Android TV beta coming today, as Google noted that now is the time for developers to optimize their apps for bigger screens. For smartphones, the developer preview is available for the Pixel 3 and up, as support for the Pixel 2 ended in December 2020. This is for developers only at this time, so there is no beta program yet. Google expects to deliver the stable version of Android 12 in August.
