3 Big Changes That Android 12 is Bringing to the Users

The latest Google I/O event introduced to the world, the latest version of Android. The new Android 12 comes with 3 major changes: the UI, Privacy and new features. The beta version of Android 12 has started rolling out. Let's see how it flares.

The UI

Android 12 is by far the biggest revamp of Android since Lollipop (Android 5). Google is calling this UI the "Material You" UI, breaking the chain of going in the alphabetical order while naming the versions of Android. The new version is all about dynamic elements, cool animations, more rounded corners, etc. The first change that users will notice is the notification tray and the quick settings panel.

The quick settings are very similar to MIUI, but it should not be a problem. The notifications now come with rounded corners with app icons showing on the left side. It also shows the number of notifications from an app in a better and clean manner. The snooze notification option is present on the right side of the notification.

There is also support for multiple media support. Swiping down on the screen brings the quick settings panel where users can see 3 options. These options are to edit the toggles in the quick setting, switching or adding user accounts, and lastly, settings. The power menu is also supposed to be there but can not be seen in the beta version. The setting panel has a 2-row design with the brightness toggle now being thicker and on top of the options.

Android 12 is also bringing some useful toggles. There are 2 new toggles to kill the microphone and camera. Toggling these options would enable or disable them for any app. There are new controls coming for Google Pay and Home Control, but they are not a part of the first beta.

The lock screen has seen some changes too. It now shows the weather details with a nice little icon showing the weather rather than just the temperature. It looks stylish and modern. The clock has been boosted to a bigger size in the centre of the screen which will have the option of being edited in the final roll-out. The lock screen without any notification looks very bold and minimalistic.

Pixel launcher also sees some changes. It is supposed to come out with app suggestions at the bottom of the screen based on the frequency and duration of usage. Manufacturers, like Samsung, have already added this feature to their UI, but it's good to see Google do it too. The brand-new setting page is another addition that might make you feel like you have increased the screen size. There is also a one-handed mode that shares a heavy resemblance to the reachability feature on iOS. Users just need to swipe down at the bottom and the whole UI adjusts to fit into half the screen. It even works on third-party apps. There are multiple new animations too, however, the final output would only be seen when the update rolls out.

One of the biggest features of the "Material You" UI is wallpaper-based theming. The UI will set a theme on your phone based on the colours in your wallpaper. The theme would extend to all functions like buttons, keyboard and even third-party apps. There is also a widget ramp following the widget revamp done by iOS.

Privacy Changes

Android 12 is coming out with a lot of privacy changes. A lot of them might make you think of iOS.

• Private Compute Core

This will be a separate partition in the OS which will store personal info gathered from features like now playing, smart replies, etc. on the device itself.

• Privacy Dashboard

This feature will show you the number of times apps have accessed features like the camera, microphone and location in the last 24 hours. It will also show when did the apps for these permissions. It has also brought the privacy indicator. Every time the camera or the microphone is being used, it will show an icon on top of the phone.

New Features

The last big thing on this list is the new features that come with the update. The first update is the cool audio fade transition when you are switching between media apps. App install optimization is also seen, but it can be turned off in the settings. There are some more features that are not part of the beta but are coming to the final update.

These features include scrolling screenshots, locked folder feature in Google Photos, Game Booster game toolbar that will let you see the FPS, temperature, etc. of the game, smart auto rotator for more accurate screen rotation, app hibernation where unused apps will be forced to stop and their temporary data will be cleared.

Google also claims that this update will bring in better performance. It is said to reduce temperatures by 22% while improving power efficiency by 15%.

This was all about the Android 12 but Google I/O had a bunch of other cool announcements too. About Quantum AI campus, Project Starline, and other highlights of the whole event.

Lastly, as said above, this is a major revamp of the android UI after Lollipop which was in 2014. So it's high time Google brings new things to its consumers.