Android 12 (2024)

Have we got an update for you.

More personal, safe and effortless than ever before.

Android 12 delivers even more personal, safe and effortless experiences on your device. Featuring a totally reimagined UI just for you, new privacy features that are designed for your safety and put you in control, and more seamless ways to get right to your gameplay or even switch to a new device.

Android 12 delivers even more personal, safe and effortless experiences on your device. Featuring a totally reimagined UI just for you, new privacy features that are designed for your safety and put you in control, and more seamless ways to get right to your gameplay or even switch to a new device.

Android12
Highlights

  • Personal
  • Safe
  • Effortless

Android 12

Personal

Our most personal OS yet.

Android 12 is our most personal OS ever, featuring dynamic color capabilities that can transform your experience based on your wallpaper and responsive motion that responds to your touch. Even the widgets have been given a facelift, with your favorite people always available right there on your home screen. And with a more spacious redesign, color contrast optimizations and new features to help those with low vision, Android 12 is designed to be accessible for even more users.

Material you

A boundary-pushing redesign.

Android 12 rethinks the entire user interface, from shapes, light and motion, to customizable system colors that can be adapted to match you. Redesigned to be more spacious and comfortable, it’s our most expressive, dynamic and personal OS ever.

Dynamic color

Color reimagined.

Change your wallpaper on your Pixel and your entire Android 12 experience changes to match. Using advanced color extraction algorithms you can easily personalize the look and feel of your entire phone, including notifications, settings, widgets and even select apps.

A smoother, more responsive UI.

The UI feels alive with every tap, swipe and scroll—responding quickly and expressively with smooth motion and animations. Android 12 delivers improved system performance so your device can work in perfect harmony with you.

A phone displaying the new Android 12 UI.

The UI feels alive with every tap, swipe and scroll—responding quickly and expressively with smooth motion and animations. Android 12 delivers improved system performance so your device can work in perfect harmony with you.

Conversation widgets

Your favorite people have a new home.

An all-new conversation widget puts the conversations with the people you care about front-and-center on your home screen so you never miss a chat from your loved ones. You can even see missed calls, birthdays and more at a glance.

An all-new conversation widget puts the conversations with the people you care about front-and-center on your home screen so you never miss a chat from your loved ones. You can even see missed calls, birthdays and more at a glance.

Accessibility improvements

Built for accessibility.

Android 12 is designed to be even more accessible with new visibility features, including:

Area magnification

A new window magnifier lets you zoom in on a part of your screen without having to lose context on the rest of the screen content.

A phone displaying the new Android 12 extra dim feature.

Extra dim

Make your display extra dim for night-time scrolling or situations when even the lowest brightness setting is too bright.

A phone displaying the new Android 12 bold text feature.

Bold text

See text more clearly with the ability to switch the font to bold across the whole phone.

A phone displaying the new Android 12 grayscale feature.

Grayscale

Adjust how colors display on your device to grayscale.

Safe

Private by design so you’re in control.

Android 12 is designed for your safety. With new easy-to-use, powerful privacy features, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you have control over who can see your data and when.

Stronger mic and camera access controls.

With Android 12, you can see when an app is using your microphone or camera thanks to a new indicator in your phone’s status bar. And if you don’t want any apps to access your microphone or camera, you can completely disable those sensors using two new toggles in quick settings. Simply flip the switch.

A phone displaying the Android 12 camera. Bubbles in the foreground read “Camera access: Available” and “Mic access: Blocked.”

With Android 12, you can see when an app is using your microphone or camera thanks to a new indicator in your phone’s status bar. And if you don’t want any apps to access your microphone or camera, you can completely disable those sensors using two new toggles in quick settings. Simply flip the switch.

Approximate location permissions

Keep your precise location private.

While some apps need precise location information for tasks like turn-by-turn navigation, many other apps only need your approximate location to be helpful. With Android 12, you can choose between giving apps access to your precise location or an approximate location instead.

A phone displaying the new Android 12 Approximate Location Permissions Screen. The screen reads: “Allow [App] to access this device’s location?” with “Approximate” location selected.

Android 12 (1)

Android 12 (2)

While some apps need precise location information for tasks like turn-by-turn navigation, many other apps only need your approximate location to be helpful. With Android 12, you can choose between giving apps access to your precise location or an approximate location instead.

Your privacy permissions at a glance.

Privacy dashboard gives you a clear and comprehensive view of when apps access your location, camera or mic over the past 24 hours. If you see anything that you’re not comfortable with, you can manage permissions right from the dashboard.

A phone displaying the new Android 12 privacy dashboard.

Privacy dashboard gives you a clear and comprehensive view of when apps access your location, camera or mic over the past 24 hours. If you see anything that you’re not comfortable with, you can manage permissions right from the dashboard.

Private compute core

Protect sensitive data in the Private Compute Core.

Powerful Android features like Live Caption and Now Playing are enabled by continuous streams of data like audio from your apps, sounds nearby, or the content on your screen. But this data can be highly sensitive and you might not want it to leave your phone.

It's essential that we build these features in a privacy-preserving way, so we built Private Compute Core. It's a first-of-its-kind secure mobile environment that is isolated from the rest of the operating system and your apps. Any information processed in Private Compute Core requires explicit user action before it can be shared with Google or any app or service. And like the rest of Android, the protections in Private Compute Core are open source and fully inspectable and verifiable by the security community.

Powerful Android features like Live Caption and Now Playing are enabled by continuous streams of data like audio from your apps, sounds nearby, or the content on your screen. But this data can be highly sensitive and you might not want it to leave your phone.

It's essential that we build these features in a privacy-preserving way, so we built Private Compute Core. It's a first-of-its-kind secure mobile environment that is isolated from the rest of the operating system and your apps. Any information processed in Private Compute Core requires explicit user action before it can be shared with Google or any app or service. And like the rest of Android, the protections in Private Compute Core are open source and fully inspectable and verifiable by the security community.

Effortless

Everything on your phone just got easier.

Android 12 makes everything on your phone effortless and easy. You can get into gameplay without having to wait for a full download and even transfer your data onto a new Android phone without any hassle.

Kick-start your gameplay.

Spend less time waiting and more time playing. Android 12 lets you play as you download, so you can jump straight into gameplay without needing to wait for the full download to finish.1

You can also select your game mode for performance or battery life, whether you want a richer gaming experience or longer play session.

Two phones running Android 12. The first screen shows the Google Play page for Touchgrind BMX, with the game mid-download. The second screen shows the loading screen for the game.

Spend less time waiting and more time playing. Android 12 lets you play as you download, so you can jump straight into gameplay without needing to wait for the full download to finish.1

You can also select your game mode for performance or battery life, whether you want a richer gaming experience or longer play session.

Scrolling screenshots

Extend screenshots beyond your screen.

Just because you reach the end of your screen doesn’t mean you need to reach the end of your screenshot. Scrolling screenshots allow you to capture all the content on the page in one image.

A phone displaying the new Android 12 scrolling screenshots feature.

Just because you reach the end of your screen doesn’t mean you need to reach the end of your screenshot. Scrolling screenshots allow you to capture all the content on the page in one image.

Switching made easy.

It’s never been easier to switch to Android and try out the best device for you. Starting on Android 12, you can transfer all your essentials by connecting your old phone to your new Android with a cable or shared WiFi connection. Your memories and data will transfer, stress-free—even from iPhone® (welcome!).

It’s never been easier to switch to Android and try out the best device for you. Starting on Android 12, you can transfer all your essentials by connecting your old phone to your new Android with a cable or shared WiFi connection. Your memories and data will transfer, stress-free—even from iPhone® (welcome!).

Android 12 (2024)

FAQs

What phones get Android 12? ›

Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5, and Pixel 5a. Find X3 Pro, Find X2, Reno6 Pro 5G, Reno6 5G (including Diwali Edition model), Oppo Reno5, F19 Pro+, A74 5G, 10X Zoom, Reno3 Pro, Reno4 Pro, F19 Pro, F17 Pro, A53s 5G, Oppo F19, F19s, F17, and A53.

What's special about Android 12? ›

Android 12 is our most personal OS ever, featuring dynamic color capabilities that can transform your experience based on your wallpaper and responsive motion that responds to your touch. Even the widgets have been given a facelift, with your favorite people always available right there on your home screen.

What is Android 13 version called? ›

What Is Android 13 Called? Android 13 was known internally at Google by the codename “Tiramisu,” following the whimsical tradition of using alphabetical confectionary-themed names for major OS version releases.

Can I download Android 12 on my phone? ›

If you have a supported Google Pixel device, you can check and update your Android version to receive Android 12 over the air. In most cases, you don't need to do a full reset of your data to move to Android 12, but it's recommended that you back up data before installing Android 12 on your device.

What is the difference between Android 11 and 12? ›

Android 12 is more customizable and personalized than Android 11. It is high-performing with more effective privacy features than Android 11. You can relate the security features with the latest iOS versions. Apple offers some personalization tools that Google tried to emulate in its Android 12 version.

What is the disadvantage of Android 12? ›

now i think flagship phones has more features, eg in Good Lock they have more options for edge lighting that my Midrange (A71) but i do regret doing the upgrade, i have been missing important notifications from some apps. some app notifications dont even show up anymore.

Is Android 12 worth upgrading to? ›

Android 12 delivers even more personal, safe and effortless experiences on your device. Featuring a totally reimagined UI just for you, new privacy features that are designed for your safety and put you in control, and more seamless ways to get straight to your gameplay or even switch to a new device.

What versions of Android are no longer supported? ›

With the release of Android 10, Google has stopped support for Android 7 or earlier. This means that no more security patches or OS updates will be pushed out by Google and Handset vendors as well.

Is Android 14 coming out? ›

Google released Android 14 after its Pixel 8/8 Pro and Pixel Watch 2 event on October 4, 2023. Assuming it's available for your device (see below), you'll get a notification to download Android 14. You can also check for an Android OS update manually.

When did Android 14 come out? ›

Android 14 is the fourteenth major release and the 21st version of Android, the mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. It was released to the public and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) on October 4, 2023.

Is Android 15 released? ›

On April 11, Google released Android 15 Beta 1 to the masses. While still an early build of the Android 15 software, we're officially beyond the Developer Preview phase and moving into the Beta one. As mentioned above, beta testing is a public process and doesn't require any special invites or privileges.

Is Android 12 secure? ›

Android 12 ups the ante on the interface's uniformity. It also offers better security options than its predecessor. The OS has a Privacy Dashboard that lets users see what data the apps are accessing. The new Privacy Dashboard gives users an all-in-one view of their permissions settings.

Which Android version is best? ›

The most exciting Android versions, ranked
  1. Android Ice Cream Sandwich (2011) Was there ever any doubt that Android 4.0 would make the list? ...
  2. Android 10 (2019) ...
  3. Android 1.5 Cupcake (2009) ...
  4. Android 5 Lollipop (2014) ...
  5. Android 12 (2021) ...
  6. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (2012) ...
  7. Android 8 Oreo (2016)
Mar 5, 2023

What year did Android 12 come out? ›

Android 12 was released publicly on October 4, 2021, through Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and was released to supported Google Pixel devices on October 19, 2021.

What is the oldest phone with Android 12? ›

The first phones to have Android 12 were the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.

Which phones will get Android 14? ›

Samsung phones that have received the Android 14 update:
  • Galaxy S23 FE.
  • Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus, and Galaxy S23 Ultra.
  • Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Plus, and Galaxy S22 Ultra.
  • Galaxy S21 FE.
  • Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Galaxy S21 Ultra.
  • Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
  • Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Mar 24, 2024

Can I upgrade my phone from Android 11 to 12? ›

Yes, it's possible to update the Android version on your device. The process is generally simple, but you might need to do some research into the specific model of your phone before you begin. First, you'll want to check what version of Android is currently installed on your phone.

Will Android 12 be on Samsung? ›

Samsung will further update the entire Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S10 lineups to Android 12 in the first couple of months of 2022.

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