News

Android 12: Latest news, eligible devices, release date, features, and more

By Doi Hoi

Posted on February 16, 2021

Back in September 2020, Google released the eleventh generation Android operating system. Android 11 has made a number of system improvements and added new features, such as speech bubbles, better privacy controls, notification history, one-time permissions for applications, and more.

After announcing this news, Google began to provide stable Android 11 updates for Pixel smartphones. In addition to Google Pixels, Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme and many other OEM manufacturers have begun to use their custom skins for Beta testing.

It is worth mentioning that some smartphone manufacturers are still sending Android 11 updates to their devices. At the same time, we have already begun to hear about Android 12, the next version of the Android operating system. Moreover, Google is expected to release the first developer’s preview of Android 12 in February or late March this year.

So, it’s a good time that we start the discussion about this upcoming Android version and keep ourselves up to date with its latest news, beta rollouts, announcements, and more.

Android 12 Beta RoadMap (Expected):

The development roadmap of Android 12 is likely to remain the same as Android 11 but we’ll have to wait for official confirmation.

Developer Previews:

February 2021
March
April
May

Beta Releases:

June
July

Final Release:

Q3 2021

Developer Preview/Beta devices:

Developers will be able to load the Android 12 beta images on their Google Pixel devices including the followings:

Google Pixel 5
Google Pixel 4a 5G
Google Pixel 4a
Google Pixel 4
Google Pixel 4 XL
Google Pixel 3a
Google Pixel 3a XL
Google Pixel 3
Google Pixel 3 XL

Android 12 Features:

High-resolution wallpapers: [February 15, 2021]

Ahead of any official announcement, you can try the wallpapers of the upcoming Android 12 operating system that are already available to download.

First look at Android 12: [February 13, 2021]

An alleged early draft of a document that Google prepared to show the changes of Android 12 has leaked along with some screenshots of the user interface and system functions.

Improved gamepad vibration settings: [January 21, 2021]

Google has submitted code to AOSP to improve the vibration of the gamepad. The code change brings support for vibration amplitude control and paves the way for generating custom vibration effects.

Restricted Networking Mode: [January 20, 2021]

Google is reportedly working on a feature called “Restricted Networking Mode”. The company has developed a new firewall chain to support restricted network modes.

Wi-Fi password sharing through Nearby Share: [January 19, 2021]

Google is developing a more simplistic alternative to share Wi-Fi passwords, which may be exposed with the upcoming Android 12.

App Hibernation: [January 12, 2021]

Google has submitted a code change to the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) project, which added a new app hibernation application.

Android 12 launch date:

Due to the COVID-19, Google has changed its plans and delay the testing as well as beta rollouts. In 2021, Google may be able to keep up with the schedule and deliver the Android 12 in early Q3 2021.

Everything you need to know:

Eligible devices, features, latest news, and release date

Samsung – One UI 4.0
Xiaomi – MIUI 12.5
OnePlus – OxygenOS 12
Realme – Realme UI 3.0
Oppo – ColorOS 12

Android 12: Eligible Devices:

Google: Android 12 device list

Google Pixel 5
Google Pixel 4a 5G
Google Pixel 4a
Google Pixel 4
Google Pixel 4 XL
Google Pixel 3a
Google Pixel 3a XL
Google Pixel 3
Google Pixel 3 XL

Samsung: Android 12-based One UI 4.0 device list

Galaxy S21 5G
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Galaxy Note 20
Galaxy Note 20 5G
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G
Galaxy Z Fold 2
Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G
Galaxy Tab S7
Galaxy Tab S7 5G
Galaxy Tab S7+
Galaxy Tab S7+ 5G
Galaxy S20
Galaxy S20 5G
Galaxy S20 5G UW
Galaxy S20+
Galaxy S20+ 5G
Galaxy S20 Ultra
Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G
Galaxy S20 FE
Galaxy S20 FE 5G
Galaxy S20 FE 5G UW
Galaxy Z Flip
Galaxy Z Flip 5G
Galaxy Note 10+
Galaxy Note 10+ 5G
Galaxy Note 10
Galaxy Note 10 5G
Galaxy Fold
Galaxy Fold 5G
Galaxy S10 5G
Galaxy S10+
Galaxy S10
Galaxy S10e
Galaxy Note 10 Lite
Galaxy S10 Lite
Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
Galaxy Tab S6 5G
Galaxy Tab S6
Galaxy A71 5G
Galaxy A71
Galaxy A51 5G
Galaxy A51
Galaxy A90 5G

More new Galaxy smartphones eligible for the Android 12-based One UI 4.0 update:

Galaxy M12
Galaxy A32 5G

Note: And all the upcoming Galaxy S/Note/Fold/Tab series and select A series devices. We will update this article as soon as we hear anything new about the upcoming software.