Google announced on Wednesday the first beta release of Android 12L, the next feature drop for the recently released Android 12 operating system. Aimed primarily at tablets and larger-screened devices, Android 12L will focus on changing the Android experience from the much-critiqued blown-up-phone look to a discrete experience that takes the larger canvas of tablets into account.
What’s new?
Today’s beta release includes the refreshed interface for larger screens, including a column view for the notification shade and lock screen. A new multitasking dock is being introduced to allow faster access to split-screen and drag-and-drop, and Google’s now done work to allow every Android 12 app to work with split-screen mode regardless of whether developers have built for it.
The big problem with big-screen Android
Unlike iOS, the Android experience on tablets and larger-screened devices has been abysmal. It’s a little understandable when one considers that Google shifted its tablet focus from
With Android 12L, the company wants to encourage developers to think more carefully about building tablet and large-screened apps for
When will my device get it?
Android 12L will hit regular phones, too, though expect more subtle changes than with tablets. The folks over at Esper have done a deep dive into everything that Google’s added into the first developer build of the update. In the meantime,
