Now that Android 12 is available for Pixel phones, should you install it? Find out in the Android Authority Android 12 review.
3 Great Google Pixel Features May Be Forgotten Google is finalizing Android 12 on October 19, 2021 (the same day Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro were announced) after nearly six months of beta. The mobile operating system has undergone the biggest dramatic visual overhaul since Material Design began in 2014. The company also offers a wide range of new user-centric features, with less noticeable but significant changes introduced in the release. and major upgrades. Compared to the previous generation. I had the opportunity to see these features during the beta program, but now I have a stable version.
Currently, Android 12 is only available on Google Pixel smartphones. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL 2018era are the oldest devices compatible with Android 12. If you have a Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5 or Pixel 5a, you can download the new version. Android 12 is also preinstalled on Pixel 6 devices. Some phones from manufacturers like Asus, OnePlus, and Samsung are participating in the beta, but it’s not yet clear when these devices will receive Android 12 from their respective OEMs. In most cases, Android 12 should work fine on your device without any major issues.
Google’s design focused on you
Material You is Google’s new design language for 2021. The company has redesigned the entire user interface, perhaps the biggest visual transformation Android has ever received. Google says Android 12 is their “most personal operating system ever.” The platform now includes dynamic and changing colors and new tactile animations. Google has redesigned many of its widgets to focus on humans and is also incorporating more accessibility tools to help the visually impaired. The first thing you notice is the change in color. Google has moved away from the bold primaries that defined Android in the past. He replaced them with softer, often translucent pastel colors. However, the real secret was to automatically match the system-level colors (widgets, drop-down menus, animations, buttons, notifications, etc.) with the colors of the selected background image. In theory, this is a good idea. Because you (probably) really like the wallpaper color you choose. What is the reality ?
You have more control than you think. When you select a wallpaper, you have several options for the color scheme that appears in the Background and Style menu of your phone. The system automatically generates a set of three or four matching colors that are distributed throughout the user interface, as well as bolder individual hues that can appear instead. I love the flexibility and choice, and the color combinations are almost endless, if not always attractive. Is this the biggest design revolution that has ever reached a smartphone? Not necessarily. But it opens up new ways to customize the look of your phone. It can give some people courage.
In addition, the color of the user interface changes every time you move the wallpaper, which allows you to keep things up to date. On the other hand, some users may find the new color scheme boring or unsuitable for their tastes. Additionally, not all apps have auto color capabilities. For example, you can choose to have your app icon use the colors common to the rest of the user interface. Third-party apps that do not enable this feature will retain their original color and design and destroy a uniform look.
More control than ever
Google claims to have designed Android 12 based on user security ideas. The way apps and users interact with key privacy features has been redesigned to give you more control over your data and devices. With Android 12, you can easily see that the app is using a microphone or a camera and a new indicator shows up in the status bar. They are bright green, appearing for an instant and then tapering into small, hard-to-see spots that cannot be overlooked. I want to keep the large icon visible. If you want to revoke the app’s access to the mic or camera, or just turn them off, you can do that through the new toggle in Quick Settings. These controls come preinstalled on your new Pixel 6 smartphone, but you’ll need to manually add them to your old Pixel.
This feature can give you immediate reassurance if you are concerned that your app is spying on you. Location approval has been given a useful feature. With Android 12, you can allow your app to access the exact or approximate location. The former is often needed for selected tasks such as turn-by-turn navigation. It is easy to grant this permission to Google Maps for this type of activity. However, in most cases the latter will suffice.