Popular search giant Google recently unveiled Android 12, with the update having been seeded out earlier this week to select smartphones. Today, it seems that Google is ready with another feature drop, this time in the form of Android 12L.
The L in Android 12L stands for Large screens, since the focus of this release will be to adapt the new OS from Google to devices such as tablets, foldables and ChromeOS based devices.
Google has announced that Android 12L will be available starting 2022, “in time for the next wave of Android 12 tablets and foldables” For now, a developer preview of the update is available for emulator use, with the Lenovo P12 Pro tablet set to receive the same soon.
Is Android 12L Coming Soon?
To add to this, a public beta for Pixels will also be coming, but the features will not be as easily visible, since the screens on Pixels are much smaller than that of a tablet or a foldable.
The company says that there are around a quarter billion ChromeOS devices, tablets and foldables running Android, with 100 million new Android tablets in 2020 alone. That is a 20% YOY growth, with foldables and ChromeOS laptops also on a steady rise.
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This new UI is for large screen usage, with notifications, lockscreens, home screens and quick settings all getting updates or changes. There will be a new two column layout, with system apps getting optimizations as well for this new update for tablets and foldables.
What Else Does it Bring to the Table?
Multi-taskers will be glad to know that Android 12L will bring with it a new taskbar that will allow users to quickly switch between their liked applications, making split screen mode easier to use as well, since all users will need to do is engage it and drag and drop any app of their choice, with all apps supporting the mode in this new version.
Developers will need to update their applications to adapt to the different types of screens and sizes on offer, providing three different size classes, one for smartphones (compact), one for foldables (medium) and Expanded for tablets and computers.
In Google’s Play Store, users will get a warning for apps that are not compatible with larger screens, with new checks in place to see the quality of the applications in relation to the new large screen guidelines for Googles, with new app ratings in place for the new large screen apps.