The first test version of Android TV 12 has been released

Google has unveiled the first Android 12 Developer Preview for developers for the Android TV platform.

The first test version of Android TV 12 is here

This version is exclusively for application developers and allows you to test the platform. You can install it only on a special device – Google’s proprietary ADT-3 dev kit, also designed for developers.

Note that the distribution of new versions of Android for TVs has traditionally lagged behind mobile devices. For example, testing Android 11 for Android TV began only in the summer of 2020. The company presented stable Android 11 in September, but the mass distribution by TV manufacturers has not yet begun.

Little is known about Android TV 12. The platform should bring a new interface and an expanded list of codec support.

Google releases first Android 12 Developer Preview, available for Pixel Phones

Finally, Google has released the first Android 12 Developer Preview. It is available for Pixel 3 / 3 XL, Pixel 3a / 3a XL, Pixel 4 / 4 XL, Pixel 4a / 4a 5G, or Pixel 5. Android 12 includes many new features related to security, connectivity, etc. But if you are a normal user and interested in installing Android 12 first Developer Preview. Then you must know the risk of installing a developer preview, your phone might not work properly after installing. So if you’re willing to take the risk, only then install the Android 12 Developer Preview on your Pixel phone.

Android 12 Features

The new version of Android includes many new features and APIs for developers. Some best features of Android 12 listed below.

Improved Privacy

• Restricted Netlink MAC 
• Modern SameSite cookie behaviors in WebView
• Safer handling of Intents

Improved user interface

• Compatible media transcoding: The Videos recorded in HEVC and HDR formats will be automatically transcoded into AVC format. 
• AVIF image support: The Android 12 introduces a  new AVIF image file format that can improve the image quality as compared to the JPEG format, without any increase in file size.
• Haptic-coupled audio effect
• Multi-channel audio

Notification UI updates

• Faster, more responsive notifications

Wi-Fi Aware (NAN) enhancements

Moreover, In the blog post the timeline of Android 12 is also given. According to the timeline, the stable version of Android 12 will be released in October 2021. We have posted the full timeline of Android 12 below.

• Android 12 DP – February
• Developer Preview 2 – March
• Developer Preview 3 – April
• Android 12 Beta 1 – May
• Beta 1-2 – June and July
• Beta 4 – August
• Candidate Build – September
• Stable – October

As I already told you that the first Android 12 Developer Preview is available on Pixel 3 / 3 XL, Pixel 3a / 3a XL, Pixel 4 / 4 XL, Pixel 4a / 4a 5G, or Pixel 5. If you want to install the Android 12 Developer Preview on your Pixel phone, then follow the instructions below to install it.

Prerequisites to Install Android 12 Developer Preview 

1. You must have a computer (Windows, macOS, or Linux).
2. Compatible Google Pixel Phone.
3. Install the Android 12 Developer Preview Flash Tool.
4. Install the Android SDK tools and update the USB drivers is you’re using Windows.
5. Download the first Android 12 Developer Preview OTA image for your particular phone.
6. Connect your Phone to your computer via USB cable.

Steps to Manually Flash the Android 12 Developer Preview

1. Press and hold the Volume down button and Power button simultaneously to enter into the recovery mode.
2. Find “apply update from ADB” and select it by pressing the power button.
3. Check that this worked by entering “adb devices” (no quotes) in a shell or command prompt. If ADB is installed and your phone is in the correct mode, you should see an identifier for your phone and a “sideload” state reported.
4. Flash the OTA via a shell or command prompt, using
   adb sideload your_file_name_here.zip
   where the filename is the name of the OTA image you downloaded earlier. On some platforms, you’ll need to precede adb commands with “./” for it to work correctly.
5. Stare anxiously at your phone while it slowly installs.
6. Reboot when done.

After this, you will get all the future Android 12 updates as normal system updates.