Android 12 is so close that most people can practically taste it. The new version has been previewed and beta tested for months, and it’s finally hit the AOSP stage. According to Google, hundreds of thousands of people signed up for the Android 12 betas, and there were a staggering 50k bugs reported.
It’s hard to tell if 50k bugs are particularly bad for Android 12
Android 12 is the biggest overhaul to the Android ecosystem in years, so it’s no surprise that there are a lot of bugs in the software that needed to be squashed. Google has brought in an entirely new design mentality called Material You with theme changes and bubbly icons.
We also have to factor in the fact that this is the most downloaded Android beta in Android history. 225k people downloaded the beta, according to Google, and that means there were many more people to report the bugs.
So, when should we expect to see the update hitting phones?
The rollout schedule wasn’t exactly laid out in the announcement, but it will be hitting Pixel phones first. Google said that Pixel owners should start seeing the update within the next couple of weeks. This could point to some people getting it in late October or early November.
As for other Android phones, Google said that they will be getting the update later this year. Once Android 12 hits Pixel Phones, there won’t really be much “year” left. Google named Samsung, Vivo, OnePlus, Oppo, Tencho, Realme, and Xiaomi specifically.
As for other OEMs, there’s really no telling. We can expect the rollout to carry into next year, with some of the worst offenders updating their phones a full year from now.
So, what new features are coming in Android 12?
Google really altered Android’s DNA with this new platform update. For starters, the overall aesthetic is different. Menus, pop-ups, folders, and other UI elements are now a lot more round. Everything has a cartoonish and bubbly look.
Another visual element what’s called Dynamic Color. This feature takes the main colors in your wallpaper and creates a custom color theme for the UI. The theme will be present in most Google apps like Google Maps, Google Calendar, Chrome, and so on.
There’s also a new feature that will let you use apps while they’re downloading. The app will download the main files to start running. At that point, you can start using it while the other files are being downloaded and installed. If you want to get Android 12, you can get it on devices as old as the Pixel 3.