Android 12

With Android 12 hitting AOSP at the start of the month, Google also released the latest Compatibility Definition Document (CDD). There are a handful of hardware and software changes that device makers have to abide by, but nothing too major.

With Android 12 Beta 5 last month, Google introduced Material You clock widgets. An update to Google Clock is rolling out today with a brand new widget and a grand total of five clock styles to choose from.

Google announced the “Private Compute Core” at I/O in May as an effective rebrand of “Device Personalization Services,” now called “Android System Intelligence.” That was followed by “Private Compute Services” last month, with that component now available as an app on the Play Store.

With Android 12 going open source on Monday, Google today detailed what’s new in the OS for enterprise admins and end-users. The latter benefits from more privacy controls, while the former can impose more measures to secure corporate data.

With Android 12’s release being delayed for Pixel phones, all eyes are looking to see who will make the first move for a stable update. Today, Samsung inched closer to that goal with the release of its second Android 12 beta which, unexpectedly, adopts Material You’s “Dynamic Color” feature.

Google just released Android 12 to AOSP earlier today, and OnePlus is already jumping on the train. Starting today, OxygenOS 12 is available in Open Beta to the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro.

While Android 12 is now available in AOSP today, Google did not release it to Pixel phones in an unprecedented departure. Instead, the company is still working on the Pixel’s Android 12 update and teased it would be a “special release.”

Google just released Android 12 to AOSP today, but not to its own Pixel smartphones. Where those will be delayed by a “few weeks,” Oppo has just announced that it will release ColorOS based on Android 12 to select regions starting today, though only in beta.

In a significant departure from previous years, Google today rolled out Android 12 to AOSP but did not launch any devices, including Pixel phones.

While we await the full release of Android 12 for Pixel devices, Developer Preview 2 is now available for the OnePlus 9 series with a number of tweaks and tuning in tow.

Over the past few weeks, it’s become clear that Google is developing a mid-year follow-up to Android 12. Here’s everything we know is coming in what we’ve dubbed “Android 12.1,” from improvements for foldables, to fixes for a variety of issues, dynamic color availability, and much, much more.

Although we’re almost ready for the stable Android 12 update to arrive on Pixel devices, the rest of the industry is just beginning to roll out their own flavors of the latest stable OS. Samsung is next with One UI 4.0, and although effectively Beta 1, we’ve been working out what the top new features are for intrepid Galaxy device enthusiasts.

After redesigning the Weather app, Google’s next step is introducing Android 12 homescreen widgets. We enabled the first one last week, and the second Google widget coming is straight from the Pixel 6’s Material You advertising. 

We started seeing signs last week that Google is working on a mid-cycle Android update that deviates from the usual yearly release schedule. There are many unknowns about what we’ve been colloquially calling “Android 12.1,” but we now know what the new AOSP wallpaper looks like.

Coming with Android 12 on Pixel devices, “Material You” is the next evolution of Google’s design language, and it brings with it the neat ability to customize colors to match your wallpaper. This primarily affects system elements, but app developers can also tap into it. Below, you’ll find a list of apps that support Material You on Android 12, both first-party and third-party.

Android 12 is the biggest update to Android in years, and it’s one that’s highly anticipated by many. However, as suspected, it seems like a lot of the update’s best features and biggest changes might not go beyond Google. That’s shown pretty clearly by Samsung’s take on Android 12, which just debuted in beta this week.

Following last week’s release candidate, Google today opened the Android 12 Beta 5 feedback survey. Like in August, its availability was delayed from the usual Friday after launch.

Android 12 brings a huge refresh to the look of the platform, and one place that’s immediately apparent is with homescreen widgets. As Google works to revamp its catalog, we’re getting an early peek at a new Google Weather widget that will be coming to Android 12.