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Google released the third and final beta version of Android 12L today. This special version of the operating system is made for large screen Android devices, hence the name Android 12L(in other words, the “L” stands for “Large”). The final version of Android 12L will reportedly be made available to the public during the first quarter of 2022.
The last Beta update of Android 12L has been released
Android 12L moves Quick Settings and notifications to a two-column lock out.
The stable version of Android 12L will be released no later than March 31st
Google says, “12L refines the system UI to make it more beautiful and easier to use on large screens—across notifications, quick settings, lockscreen, overview, the home screen, and more.” Quick Settings and notifications appear in a two-column layout. On tablets, the PIN controls and lock screen pattern are placed on the side for easier reach.
With Android 12L apps can be run in split-screen mode
Apps can be run in split-screen mode by dragging and dropping them from the taskbar. To reveal the taskbar or hide it, users will need to long-press on the screen.
Talking about the changes being made to Google Play with Android 12L, Google said, “To make it easier for people to find the best app experiences on their tablets, foldables, and Chrome OS devices, we’re making changes in Play to highlight apps that are optimized for their devices.”
Time to pick up the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
Google adds that “We’re adding new checks to assess each app’s quality against our large screen app quality guidelines to ensure that we surface the best possible apps on those devices. For apps that are not optimized for large screens, we’ll start warning large screen users with a notice on the app’s Play Store listing page.”
For large screened Android tablets and foldables, installing Android 12L is a no-brainer. For Pixel handsets, the decision will be yours. As Google says, “12L is a special feature drop that makes Android 12 even better on large screens. We’ve optimized and polished the system UI for large screens, made multitasking more powerful and intuitive, and improved our compatibility support for apps so they look better by default.”
Personally, we wonder whether Android 12L might look cluttered on a Pixel 6 Pro in portrait mode.
