Google introduced a new pattern earlier this month with a beta program for the upcoming June Feature Drop for Pixel devices, and it seems that the update had some useful changes behind the scenes. Pixel 6 now supports “Direct USB Access,” which opens the door to better DAC support.
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After years of stagnation, Android 12 brought renewed attention to widgets on the OS. Google introduced a number of new tools for developers and revamped its first-party offerings. With all these changes, are you using widgets more?
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With the Pixel 6 and Android 12, Google redesigned At a Glance to be left-aligned and made it just open the Weather app by default. Android 12L makes it so that tapping At a Glance’s top line opens Google Calendar again.
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With Android 12, Google introduced a “performance class” to let app developers “understand what a device is capable of, and tailor [their] user experience accordingly.” The Pixel 6 and several other modern flagships were the “first to optimize” and meet the standard, which apps like Snapchat are using, but Samsung is absent.
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Following the launch two weeks ago, Google is now rolling out Android 12 QPR3 Beta 1.1 for the Pixel 6 series. This is a preview for the upcoming June Feature Drop.
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Android 12 is one of the platform’s most meaningful updates for the big screen in a while, but despite its early start, it hasn’t shown up on any devices. In a new blog post published this week, Google has confirmed that Android TV 12 will be available on devices this year.
Update: Google has updated the blog post to say that Android TV 12 won’t debut until “later” this year, retracting the earlier mention of “early.”
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After a two-week delay, Pixel 6 and 6 Pro owners today are starting to see the Android 12L update with the March Feature Drop roll out.
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After a brief Open Beta period, the stable OxygenOS update atop Android 12 is now rolling out for the OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro, 8T, and the OnePlus 9R.
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With the February security patch, many assumed that the Pixel 6 would be updated on the same day as all other Google phones going forward. Android 12L and the March Feature Drop obviously proved that was not the case, but the next Pixel 6 patch might be available on Monday.
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Gaming phones have become more powerful and more affordable in recent years, and Asus offers some of the best. Now, the Asus ROG Phone 5 is getting its Android 12 update with a lengthy changelog.
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At the start of March, Android 12L rolled out to Pixel phones and AOSP, while updates for Samsung and Microsoft devices are planned for this year. Lenovo is also on that list and yesterday released Android 12L Beta 3 for the Lenovo P12 Pro.
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At this point, Google’s biggest Android apps have been updated with Material You. Redesigns are widely rolled out, but widget availability varies depending on whether you have a Pixel or Samsung device running Android 12. The following is our running tally of which Google app Material You widgets are available where.
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Material You offers easy customization for Android in ways we’ve never seen officially, but it’s only so flexible. Repainter was released early this year as a neat way to enhance Material You colors, and in its latest update, the app is adding a quick settings toggle as well as the ability to separate colors used for accents and the background.
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Google surprisingly rolled out Android 12 QPR3 Beta 1 today, and it should be a straightforward upgrade for most users. However, those who want to opt out of the Beta Program will have to wipe their phones, and a bug is affecting Android 13 Developer Preview 1 devices.
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Following the launch of Android 12L on Monday, Google today announced Android 12 QPR3 Beta 1 as part of a new, more frequent Beta Program to preview the next Feature Drop — which coincides with Quarterly Platform Releases — expected in June.
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Android 12.1 with the March security patch is rolling out today for the Pixel 3a, Pixel 4, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, and Pixel 5a. [Update: The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will see SP2A.220305.013.A3 (Global build) OTAs “later this month.”]
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In addition to bringing Android 12L and the quarterly Feature Drop, the March security patch fixes 80 issues for the Pixel 3a to Pixel 6 Pro.
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Google is rolling out the Pixel’s tenth Feature Drop this March. While it will be available starting today for the Pixel 3a through 5a, the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro will get the Feature Drop “later” this March in a situation similar to the start of this year.
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Back in October, Google announced Android 12L as an unexpected “special feature drop” to improve the OS on tablets and foldables devices. After one 12L developer preview and three betas, this next release of Android — officially version 12.1 — is launching for Pixel phones alongside the March Feature Drop, while Google detailed what’s coming for tablets and foldables.
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Live Captions is one of those features you never really realized you needed until it was available. In essence, it captions every bit of audio that your device plays for easy accessibility. This guide will take you through how to enable it or disable it on your Android 12 device, as well as a couple of tips and tricks.
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Sony has now started rolling out Android 12 to 2019’s Xperia 1 II and the previous flagship Xperia Pro having previously updated the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III late last month.
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Material You elements quickly took over various Google apps in the lead-up and following the rollout of Android 12, but it seems Google isn’t done. Hidden in the latest Google Phone update is a new dialer design that has some familiar Material You elements.
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After what has felt like a long wait, OxygenOS 12 is now available in preview form for the OnePlus 8, 8 Pro, and 8T with the release of Open Beta 1.
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Android 12L is scheduled to get its “final release” sometime next month, but it’s already quite a stable beta build. However, Pixel 6 and 6 Pro owners that are fully updated cannot install it at the moment. Google, meanwhile, plans to release one more Android 12L build in March.
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