It was an open secret that after Android 12 a subversion would arrive, although we did not expect that Google would surprise us with a different numbering. Finally, it is not called Android 12.1 but Android 12L, with L for “large”. It is a version of Android 12 best suited to large folding screens, tablets and Chromebooks.
Google defines Android 12L as a “feature drop” that makes Android 12 even better in folding and tablets, rather than as a new version of the operating system. What’s new is focused on making better use of space on devices with large screens and boosting productivity with multitasking improvements.
Android 12 in a big way
The last time Google focused on optimizing Android for tablets was with Android Honeycomb and the experiment didn’t go too well. With Android 12L Google is testing something slightly different: the news will be applied on Android 12, but they weren’t ready for release.
Therefore, Google defines Android 12L as a feature drop Android 12, an update that is now available as Developer Preview so that developers can begin to verify that their applications are properly adapted to large screens and folding. It focuses on tablets and Chromebooks, but will also reach mobile, although in this case many of the news will not be available.
Android 12L is built on two pillars: the best use of the screen and multitasking enhancements. In this first concept, we see how the notification panel is divided into two, with a column for quick settings and another for notifications.
The lock screen It also receives a two-column interface, with other changes to improve its usability on devices with a large screen diagonal. For example, the buttons to unlock the device by entering the PIN are displayed on one side of the screen, and you can switch from one side to the other with a touch.
For folding, Android 12L optimizes the home screen grid with a more polished fold-and-unfold transition, so switching from a “small” to a “large” version of an application is smoother when unfolding the screen.
In terms of productivity, possibly the biggest novelty of Android 12L is the task bar, similar to Windows. This taskbar remains active after opening an application and allows you to pin applications to the side of the screen to easily activate split view. If you want, you can hide the taskbar.
It is therefore easier than ever to activate the split screen view to use two applications at the same time from the taskbar, to which is added the new Divide action in the recent view, so that you can open the app in split screen with one touch.
Even today, many applications are not prepared to take advantage of all the screen space of a tablet or Chromebook. Android 12L is able to handle these cases better with visual and stability improvements to provide a better compatibility with applications that are not adapted.
This compatibility mode adds borders around the application and options are added so that manufacturers can customize the look of the interface, including the aspect ratio, the transparency of the status bar or whether the application windows will have rounded edges or not.
With Android 12L also comes a new version of google play optimized for large screens in which it will be easy to find applications and games optimized for tablets, folding and Chromebooks.
Finally, Android 12L adds a new API so that manufacturers can better specify whether an application should open in portrait or landscape mode, an orientation that in the case of folding can change simply by unfolding the screen.
Android 12L Developer Preview is available to developers through the Android Studio emulator and it will officially arrive at the beginning of 2022 to tablets, Chromebooks, folding mobiles and also normal mobiles, although in this case many of the news will not be available.
More information | Android Developers