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Android 12 DP3 lets you swipe away screenshots either left or right
No longer limited to swiping to the right
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Android 11 introduced a new floating screenshot panel with editing and sharing options that pops up at the bottom of your display after taking a screenie, but getting rid of it fast has always been cumbersome. You'd have to aim for a small x in the top right corner of the miniature screenshot preview. Android 12 changes that and allows you to swipe away the screenshot UI. While the first two developer previews only allowed you to swipe to the left, the third release finally allows you to swipe in either direction.
Pixel phones might get customizable lock screen clocks in Android 12
A feature that first surfaced in an Android 10 developer preview
Pixel phones have become pretty customizable thanks to the Pixel Themes app first introduced with Android 10, but there's one part of the Pixel skin that you can't tweak too much — the lock screen. The Android 10 beta suggested that we might get some custom clocks at some point, but when the OS went stable, no traces of alternative clocks were left. That might change with Android 12. It looks like Google will include Pixel-exclusive lock screen clocks.
Before the first Android 12 developer preview landed, some leaked mockups suggested that we're in for a pretty big redesign with wallpaper-based theming, a new notification shade, and conversation widgets. Most of these features have already been spotted hiding in the first developer preview, and now, we're also getting our first look at conversation widgets thanks to XDA.
While the first Android 12 developer preview may not carry too many new features compared to its predecessor on the surface, there is a ton of stuff hidden behind system flags, including a notification shade makeover, wallpaper-based themes, and an iPhone-style one-handed mode. But gamers are also in for a treat: The developer preview appears to lay the foundation for an in-game toolbar, as reported by XDA.
Tapping notifications will open apps instantaneously on Android 12
Google apps are among the worst offenders and will need to be updated ahead of the stable release
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You know these notifications you tap and then nothing happens until a minute or two have passed? Twitter used to be guilty of this, but there are still tons of apps out there that exhibit this behavior. Google is looking to make this a thing of the past on Android 12, forbidding apps from using so-called notification trampolines. That should effectively banish slowly loading notifications, and the change is already having an effect on apps on Android 12 today — and we learned that Google apps are among the worst offenders.
The big Material redesign is hidden in Android 12, but we've got screenshots
Further proof we're in for some big interface changes this year
Google released the first Android 12 developer preview yesterday, and our friends over at XDA are already digging deep into the code to find out what Google might have planned for future releases of the new OS. In the process, they managed to activate a few flags that pave the way for a brand-new interface.
The Android 12 Developer Preview lands today! Breaking with the expected schedule, Google has just pushed out our very first taste of the next version of Android, available now for the Pixel 3 series, 3a series, Pixel 4 series, Pixel 4a series, and the lonesome Pixel 5. Developers that this release actually targets can also get their Android 12 on via Android Studio's emulator.
Android 12 lets you limit which apps will display media controls in Quick Settings
NO, YouTube. You do NOT get to clutter up my Quick Settings with your controls
Last year Android 11 gave us a new way to control what's playing on our phones, with the introduction of a media playback interface that lived up in the Quick Settings panel. While its development (to say nothing of its arrival) was a bit rough, having those prominent controls sure proved to ultimately be a very useful addition. Now with Android 12 DP1 arriving to give us an early taste of what's next, we're starting to see some new functionality arrive for the media controls.
Android 12's new toggle design is big and bold and we're not sure what to think of it
But it's good for accessibility
This first developer preview has a ton of developer-facing changes, but fewer visual tweaks than we expected to see, given prior leaks. However, there are some notable visual changes, like these new toggles that appear in some sections of Settings. Weirdly, they don't replace the old toggles everywhere, but they are live in a few spots.
Android 12 Developer Preview 1 is here, but it's not exactly easy to get. Because this first Android 12 version is meant for developers, Google isn't just making it an opt-in process like later beta versions will be. But, if you're willing to take the risk (and not get upset if and when things go wrong), here's where to get it.