Android 12 Features: Google’s biggest and radical design update in years!
Update: Google officially launched Android 12 on October 4, 2021. Read more
On May 18, 2021, Google introduced the twelfth major generation of its mobile operating system, Android 12. Unlike every version, the company has made countless noticeable changes with this version such as new design, bubbly buttons, shifting colors, smoother animations, and much more.
At the same time, Sameer Samat, VP of product management, Android and Google Play revealed that it is “the biggest design change in Android’s history.”
No doubt, Android has always been about personalization and allowing you to select the device, service, and experience that’s right for you from the beginning. Google’s mobile phone operating system has grown to over 3 billion active devices around the world by providing an open ecosystem that gives you choice.
However, the public beta program of Android 12 has already begun for select smartphones from several companies except for Samsung, but we get to see the new feature directly from the company. Let’s start exploring them, in detail, one by one!
A more personal experience
As Google official revealed during the I/O, Android 12 comes with the biggest design change in Android’s history. Starting the colors to the shape, light and motion, Google entirely revamped the experience. As result, Android 12 is more expressive, dynamic, and personal than ever before.
Personalization
As always, every single change of the newer version of Android will be implemented on Google’s Pixel phones. At the conference, Google said that Pixel device owners will be able to completely personalize their phones with a custom color palette and redesigned widgets.
With the Android 12, you only have to choose your wallpaper and the system will automatically decide which colors are dominant, which ones just look great, and which ones are complementary. Later on, it applies those colors across the entire OS including notification shade, lock screen, volume controls, widgets, and much more.
Google did this work in deep collaboration between its software, hardware, and Material Design teams. Not that all, the company is unifying its software and hardware ecosystems under a single design language called Material You. The company confirmed that Material You comes first to Google Pixel this fall.
Fluid motion and animations
Google has also simplified interactions and recrafted the entire underlying system to make user’s experience more fluid and efficient. With Android 12, your Android device will be faster and more responsive with better power efficiency so you can use your device for longer without a charge.
Redesigned system spaces
Notification shade, quick settings and power button, are some of the most important spaces on your phone, which have impressively revamped in order to help you get things done.
The Notification Shade is more intuitive and playful, with a crisp, at-a-glance view of your app notifications, whatever you’re currently listening to or watching.
Quick Settings that allows you to control the entire operating system by just a swipe and a tap, is totally refreshed to include Google Pay and Home Controls. While it still lets you customize as per your own preference.
Power Button will now allow users to access the Google Assistant by long-pressing on it, you can easily take the help of Assistant to make a phone call, ask questions, open apps, play songs, and many more.
Private and secure by design
Google’s latest Android 12 operating system brings new features, which presents more transparency around which apps are accessing your data, and more controls so you can make informed choices about how much private information your apps can access.
Furthermore, the new Privacy Dashboard offers a single view into your permissions settings and what data is being accessed, how often and by which apps. Besides, it also enables you to easily revoke app permissions right from the dashboard.
According to Google, it has added a new indicator at the top right corner of the status bar that indicates users when an app is accessing the phone’s camera or microphone. While if you want to remove app access to these sensors for the entire system, Android 12 comes with two new toggles in Quick Settings.
Aside from this, Android 12 also highlights more control over how much information you share with apps. The search engine giant claimed that apps can be limited to seeing just your approximate location instead of a precise one with the new approximate location permissions.
Additional Features
In addition to the above-mentioned features, Android 12 packs several useful features such as improved accessibility features for people with impaired vision, scrolling screenshots, conversation widgets that bring your favorite people to the home screen, and ways for all your devices to work better together.
What about stable Android 12?
Last but not least, Google confirmed that there are more features coming later this year with the stable release of Android 12. However, the US tech giant has not announced the launch date of the stable Android 12, but it could happen somewhere in September this year.
STAY CONNECTED WITH US:
- Join SammyFans on Telegram
- Like SammyFans.com on Facebook
- Follow SammyFans on Twitter
- Get news in graphics on Instagram
- Get the latest insights through Google News
- Send us tips at – [email protected]
Owners of select Samsung Smart TVs, monitors, The Premiere 7 & 9 projectors, or The Freestyle 2nd Gen can stream Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Flight Simulator 2024 and hundreds of other games with Gaming Hub Xbox Game Pass.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Flight Simulator 2024 are two of the most popular games of 2024. Thanks to Samsung Gaming Hub, you don’t need to download any of the Xbox Game Pass titles, no meaning no storage required – just jump in and play.
The company has also built an engaging gameplay experience designed by fans, for fans through The Six, challenging players’ knowledge and providing another way to interact with the world of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Notably, Samsung’s Gaming Hub is available on a variety of Samsung screens. It includes the AI-powered 2024 TV lineup, monitors, projectors, The Premiere, and The Freestyle 2nd Gen projector, offering instant access to console-free gaming.
Anyone with a Samsung Smart TV will be able to use their remote to jump in and play. This way, Gaming Hub provides a co-branded experience, giving Call of Duty fans another way to engage with the franchise they love.
For starters: The Six offers daily trivia where players can answer a series of six questions in competition with other players around the world. Correct answers with the fastest response time will achieve higher scores.
Samsung could launch the Galaxy ixi-O AI Phone next year. The company has collaborated with LG Uplus to develop a custom smartphone. The device is said to feature Galaxy AI and LG Uplus’s AI call assistant ixi-O.
Sources citing KEDGlobal revealed that Samsung and LG Uplus working together to develop the Galaxy ixi-O AI Phone. It’s a big development in the smartphone industry, while the handset is highly likely to be Korea-limited.
Samsung fans are well aware of the Galaxy AI feature suite. ixi-O is an AI-powered digital assistant developed by Korean carrier LG Uplus. The company plans to enter the smartphone market, featuring its own-developed AI assistant.
The report indicates that Samsung and LG Uplus’ ixi-O AI Phone will launch as early as next year. The development project focuses on crafting a “real AI phone” that goes beyond simply integrating AI assistant services into a smartphone.
ixi-O comes with useful features such as AI call answering, detecting voice phishing in real-time, recording and summarizing phone calls and converting voice conversation into text – all within an on-device environment.
Image: ixi-O AI | LG Uplus Newsroom
Based on specifications, the Galaxy ixi-O AI Phone will be based on a Galaxy phone available globally. The design will match with a global Galaxy smartphone, but the software may be tweaked as per the carrier’s requirements.
A custom Galaxy phone isn’t shocking or impossible in South Korea. Samsung releases Quantum, Buddy, and Jump-branded phones in the market. The company collaborates with Korean carriers to bring these devices to mainland Korea.
The carrier introduced an on-device AI-powered ixi-O assistant earlier this month. LG Uplus will initially target its consumer base for the new AI Phone. However, the AI Assistant may be expanded to a broader audience across Korea.
Samsung could use Gauss2-based Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The company’s next-gen Generative AI model is 1.5 to 3x faster than the first-gen Gauss model. The DX division is already using Gauss2 to ramp up internal productivity.
Gauss2 offers improved performance and efficiency in simultaneously handling various data types. In the previous article, we’ve demonstrated its three distinct models that cater to different purposes: Compact, Balanced, and Supreme.
Samsung says the second-gen Gauss model offers equal or superior performance in response generation than leading open-source generative AI models. That said, the Galaxy AI will become faster and smarter with the inclusion of Gauss2.
Thanks to faster processing speed, Gauss2 enables quicker AI response generation. This way, the Galaxy user won’t have to wait much time. The company stated that it will continue to expand the reach of its AI-based services across all product lines.
That said, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is likely to boast Gauss2-based Galaxy AI. This upgrade will result in even faster processing of tasks and execution. Features like composition, image generation, and translation would benefit from Gauss2.
Earlier, we broke the news that Samsung is crafting an advanced AI technology. The Gauss2 press release indicates that the future Galaxy AI iteration could be integrated with knowledge graph technology to offer relevant results.
The Galaxy S24 series also uses Google’s Gemini Nano AI model. The fruitful collaboration offers futuristic capabilities on Galaxy devices. Samsung is rumored to use an enhanced version of Gemini Nano across the Galaxy S25 lineup.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s development may have indulged Gauss2 capabilities on the Galaxy S25 series. Integrated with new processors and optimized software, the company’s AI model would offer faster, reliable, and smarter results.