Last week, Google released the fifth (and latest) beta version of Android 12 for Pixel smartphones, and now we’ve seen evidence pointing to an approximate date for the launch of the stable Android 12 update.
Google said that we should expect the release of the latest version of Android in “just a few weeks”, but they never gave an exact date.
What new features does Android 12 include?
The editor-in-chief of IT magazine XDAdevelopers tweeted a screenshot from an internal Google document detailing when the company will stop approving software versions based on Android 10, Android 11, and Android 12. In case you don’t know, Google must approve any software release for which manufacturers claim to have passed the necessary compatibility tests for delivery with Google applications. To ensure that manufacturers don’t just continue releasing devices with older versions of Android, Google will eventually stop approving versions based on older versions of the Android OS.
The shared document states when this will happen, and also states when Google publishes the source code for a particular edition of Android. According to this document,
Android 12 update imrovements
- App privacy features
- Redesigned notifications
- Customized color themes for Pixel phones
- Double-tap options
- One-handed mode
- Face-based autorotate
- Trash and recycle bin management
When Android 12 does arrive, as always, it will be a free download for Android users.
Android 12 Release Date
Google will release the source code for Android 12 on October 4, 2021.
What devices will be compatible with Android 12?
Last year, Google released the source code for Android 11 on September 8, 2020, shortly after introducing a stable update for Pixel phones on the same day. So, there is a great chance that a stable update of Android 12 will be released for Pixel phones on October 4, 2021, and most likely newer smartphones from Samsung, Huawei, LG, Nokia, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, and other manufacturers, because that is the approximate date of the release of the source code for Android 12.