Android 12 is here and it's time to get excited! With the launch of the Pixel 6 on October 19, Android 12 is now available for Pixel devices. This update brings a range of new features designed to make your device faster, more secure, and more responsive. It also includes powerful and easy-to-use privacy features that give you control over who can see your data and when. Android 12 is also available on other phones, including Samsung Galaxy and other models.
It offers a new design language, Material You theme options on the Pixel, and improved privacy options. Google promises that Android 12 will make your device faster and more responsive, reducing the CPU time needed for core system services by up to 22% and reducing the use of large cores by the system server by up to 15%. This should also mean longer battery life. Samsung has also released an official schedule of when to expect Android 12 updates on several Galaxy smartphones.
With Android 12, you can see if an application uses your microphone or camera thanks to a new indicator in the phone's status bar. There are also numerous privacy improvements in Android 12, with new indicators that visibly show if the microphone or camera is in use, even if they are in the background. Some users can download the beta version of Android 12 now, which may still be valuable for owners of Xiaomi Mi 11, OnePlus 9 and other beta-compatible phones other than Pixel. Shortly after starting its launch to the Galaxy S21, Samsung also confirmed an official schedule of when to expect Android 12 updates on several other Galaxy smartphones.
Google hasn't released an official compatibility list for Android 12 yet, but it has already been implemented on phones earlier this month. Following reports that the software was plagued by bugs, however, the update was withdrawn. A good advantage of Android is having this type of customization available, but it's certainly not for everyone. Another clue about the release of Android 12 may have come from a community manager on Samsung's support forums, who posted a timeline of Android 12 claiming that the update is expected in January. In addition to the LG Q31 and the Q52, almost all eligible LG phones have received Android 12 according to Piunikaweb tracking (opens in a new tab), including the LG Velvet, the LG V60 ThinQ and the LG Wing, but mainly in South Korea. The Galaxy S10 5G followed only a few days later, as it arrived in some parts of Europe and the Galaxy S10 Lite was updated in early January, more than a month ahead of schedule.
The Galaxy S10 5G saw its Android 12 update expand to the US. UU. and Korea around January 17th. If you have another Android (other than Pixel) phone, you'll probably have to wait a little longer as every company must ensure that the latest update works with their existing phones. Vivo has not yet announced the finalized release of Android 12, but the company has just shared the beta update plan for its Funtouch operating system, at least in India. Android 12 is still a very new version of the platform but Samsung releases the update for its Galaxy devices less than a month after Google's Pixel phones.
For the first time, Google didn't do what was expected and started launching Pixels along with delivering the Android 12 source code.
