Google released the first Android 12 Developer Preview build earlier this week. For many of us expecting the major overhaul of the design previously seen in the Android 12 leak, the initial official release was quite disappointing – despite a host of new improvements to Android’s functionality. Of course, this is just the developer’s first preview and Google will be following a monthly update routine ahead of its stable release in September 2021, but there was certainly room to improve it. Do you agree that the first release could have been more impressive?
All Android 12 news on XDA
Android 12 brings visible design changes, including the new spaced notifications, while a bluish color replaces the white background color we’ve seen since Android Lollipop. The new Android version also makes certain switches in Settings bigger and organizes menus better. But the update made us crave for major visual changes, such as background color with background music, the new dynamic widgets for Conversations or the privacy indicators. Google teased a one-handed mode that can be toggled with a feature flag, but it’s also half-based at the moment.
Despite what it is currently missing, the future of Android 12 looks very promising!
While the current build doesn’t impress us with its UI updates, XDA’s editor-in-chief, Mishaal Rahman, managed to activate some of the hidden features in Android 12 Developer Preview. These features include a one-handed native mode in Android 12, similar to iOS’s reachability. In addition, Google is working towards better one-handed use by shifting UI elements halfway down the screen in a similar way that Samsung has implemented with One UI – or OnePlus with OxygenOS 11. These settings are hidden behind a “Silky Home” feature flag.
Here’s Android 12’s one-handed mode – fully working. Unfortunately, it’s comparable to Apple’s reachability (resize vertically) rather than OHM on most OEM software (both horizontally and vertically resize). pic.twitter.com/IznRVHTgPu
– Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) February 18, 2021
Although it was skipped from the first Developer Preview, Google is working on redesigning the interface, as previously rumored. Mishaal could force some changes to Android 12’s UI and trigger the unfinished Notification UI and Always-On Display features. The notification UI is quite similar to Xiaomi’s custom Android skin, MIUI. It seems there are more empty spaces between active elements in the UI, giving it a minimal aesthetic.
In addition to the above changes, developer kdrag0n was also able to implement the wallpaper-based theme that was previously teased in the leaks. These changes, part of the Material NEXT design, are hidden from the current Android 12 build that is publicly available. These color-changing capabilities of Android 12 grew out of the RRO functionality introduced in Android Lollipop.
The new theme feature also applies to the notification drop-down list on the lock screen. In addition to these changes, Android 12 is likely to bring different lockscreen clock and Always-On-Display styles.
Again, these features aren’t available to users, but their presence in the code suggests that Android may be headed for the next big UI change since Android 9 Pie. We look forward to these changes being activated by default in the upcoming Android 12 Developer Preview and beta releases. Still, there is no timeline for this particular position yet.
What’s your take on the alleged changes to Android 12’s UI? Let us know in the comments below!