Android 12 Developer Preview has arrived - the future of Android begins here
Android 12 Developer Preview has arrived – the future of Android begins here
Google has announced the first Android 12 developer preview, commencing the path to this year’s major Android update, due late summer.
The Android 12 Developer Preview 1 doesn’t offer much in the way of new consumer features, but rather offers some new back-end API tools to prepare developers for the new cycle. Now available for developers with Pixel phones, the update includes “new tools for building great experiences for users.”
From what Google has announced in a blog post from Android VP of Engineering Dave Burke, we know Notifications are getting a major upgrade this year.
Notifications
Burke speaks of new designs that make notifications “more modern, easier to use, and more functional,” in Android 12. There’ll also be optimisations for “transitions and animations across the system to make them more smooth.”
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Burke also said that Android notifications will be decorated with custom content “with icon and expand affordances to match all other notifications.” It’s not totally clear what’s meant by this, but we’re sure to see more in the coming months. Google also says that Android 12 notifications will respond more quickly to the user’s taps. In part this will be achieved by blocking notification “trampolines” which can slow down the process.
“To keep notifications responsive, Android 12 will block notification trampolines by preventing them from launching their target Activities, and we’re asking developers to migrate away from this pattern,” Burke writes.
Haptic-coupled audio
Elsewhere in the blog, Burke has announced there’s now a haptic-coupled audio effect in Android 12. “For example, a video calling app could use custom ringtones to identify the caller through haptic feedback, or you could simulate rough terrain in a
racing game.”
Other new updates
Another new feature is dubbed rich content insertion, which will make it easier for users to move images, videos (and other expressive content) around the apps. In Android 12 “we’re introducing a new unified API that lets you accept content from any source: clipboard, keyboard, or drag and drop,” Google says.
There’s also new enhancements for multi-channel audio, support for AVIF images for improved video compression. Gesture navigation is getting a boost too and there’s improved support for tablets, foldable and TVs when it comes to app compatibility.
Android 12 release date
We won’t see the fruits of this work until future updates. There are further developer previews planned between now and May, while the public beta releases will begin in May around the time of the Google I/O showcase event. Final release is sometime after August.
