Android 12 Features: Explore The Latest Android Version

Android has grown from a mobile operating system for smartphones to a complete ecosystem. Now, there are more than 2 billion users of Android devices in the world and the OS is being used in a wide variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, wearables, cars, and televisions. With every new release of Android, millions of developers and users eagerly anticipate the final features list and release date.

Moreover, with good reason – each new version comes with plenty of changes that directly impact how we use our phones. Newer versions also bring big changes under the hood that make it easier for developers to build apps on top of the OS. As you probably know by now, Google releases an updated version of Android every year.

Here are some cool new features in this version;

1. Adaptive Battery

If you have ever tried to maximize your smartphone’s battery life, you know it can be a real challenge. That’s because smartphone batteries have a finite amount of energy and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Therefore, there is no way to “refill” it.

There are a couple of ways to extend your battery life. One is to switch your phone to a lower-power “Low Power Mode.” This cuts some of the battery-draining features of your phone – like email push and background app refresh. But the “Low Power Mode” is really just a band-aid on top of your phone’s power-consumption problem. It is not a long-term solution. That is why Google has introduced a new feature in Android 12 called “Adaptive Battery.” The name is pretty self-explanatory: The OS will intelligently determine which apps are consuming the most power and prioritize those that are most important to you.

2. Beta and Duplex

Beta is an experimental version of a product that is still in development. That’s why Google will let you test drive the latest version of Android 12. You will have access to an early version of the OS and will be able to report back to Google about any bugs or issues you might encounter. That’s helpful for Google because it allows them to track down and squash any major kinks before the official release.

You will also have access to a new feature called “Duplex.” This feature allows you to book restaurants, purchase movie tickets, and make hair appointments with an automated phone call. It is pretty neat but you also need to keep in mind that it is still in beta – so it might have some kinks.

3. Brightness Boost

This is another feature that is designed to improve your smartphone battery life. It automatically boosts the brightness of your screen if you’re in a dark environment. This can help you see better – but it also consumes a lot of battery power. In past versions of Android, the brightness would stay at this boosted level unless you manually lowered it again. But in Android 12, the brightness automatically goes back to normal 30 seconds after your phone detects that you’ve moved your eyes away. This is a small change but it can really add up if you are spending lots of time in dark environments like watching a movie in the theatre or reading a book in the dark.

4. Google Assistant Lead-in

The Google Assistant is a powerful way to interact with your phone – but it can be frustrating to activate. You have to first press and hold the “home” or “ Assistant ” button and then speak your command. It is a bit clunky. But in Android 12, you can now simply squeeze the sides of your phone’s frame to activate the Assistant. It works just like the squeeze function on the Google Pixel Buds headphones. This makes it much faster and easier to interact with the Assistant. You can also squeeze the frame of your phone to put the Assistant on “HOLD” – so that you can speak a longer command.

5. Lock-screen Shortcuts and Face Unlock

A lock screen is a place where you can do quick actions and view information about your day. In Android 12, Google has added a few new shortcuts that make it even more useful. These include a shortcut to “At a glance,” which is a feature that shows you the weather, upcoming calendar events, and more. You can also swipe left on the lock screen to quickly open the camera app.

And finally, you can use the front-facing camera to unlock your phone. This is called “Face unlock.” You can turn this feature on in the settings menu.

6. Android Dashboard

The Android dashboard gives you a visual view of your phone’s health and performance. This is helpful if you are experiencing any issues with your phone – like unexpected battery drain, app crashes, or slow speeds. You can see a visual timeline of when your phone was used most and what apps were running during that time. This can help you track down what might be causing problems. The Android dashboard also lets you turn off a feature called “Background process limit,” which forces apps to stop consuming batteries when you are not using them.

7. Smart Reply in Google Keyboard and more

The Google Keyboard has always been a powerful tool for typing on your phone – but it is gotten even better in Android 12. For one, the keyboard will now suggest different words based on your previous typing history. It also tracks what you’re typing in real-time and helps you avoid common typing mistakes.

It is also been updated so that you can swipe left to right to view your emojis. You can also tap the space bar twice to end a sentence.

8. Google AI features

Google’s AI (artificial intelligence) is becoming more and more prevalent across its products. You can already find it in Google Assistant and Google Translate. But you will also see it in Android 12 specifically, in battery management, app usage, and data use. All of these features are designed to be more efficient and use less data – but they are also designed to be more secure.

9. New gesture navigation

The classic “back-home-overall” navigation may be a holdover from the early days of smartphones. But in Android 12, Google is introducing a new gesture navigation system. This gives you a cleaner and more intuitive interface for navigating your phone. Here is how it works: Swiping up from the home screen takes you to the “overall” screen. Swiping right takes you to your previous app and swiping left takes, you back to one screen.

10. Dark Theme and Night Mode

Android 12 also comes with a “Dark theme” that changes your phone’s interface to a dark colour palette. This helps save your eyes if you are reading or browsing in the dark. And a “Night mode” that changes your screen’s brightness level and colour during specific hours of the day. This helps reduce eyestrain if you are reading or browsing at night.

Summary

The Android 12 is better than ever and includes an exciting array of new features:

1. Adaptive Battery
2. Beta and Duplex
3. Brightness Boost
4. Google Assistant Lead-in
5. Lock-screen Shortcuts and Face Unlock
6. Android Dashboard
7. Smart Reply in Google Keyboard and more
8. Google AI features
9. New gesture navigation
10. Dark Theme and Night Mode