Android 12 - The Ambitious Redesign

The Ambitious Redesign

Android 12 has been out for several weeks at this point. Everyone who got the update has probably had enough time to know what they love and hate most about this ambitious redesign. Android is a highly customisable OS; its aesthetics vary between manufacturers and how they decide to showcase the latest features available. For the sake of this piece, we’ll take a look at Android 12 in its purest form, the way Google intended it to be.

Android 12, according to Google, is all about your phone adapting to you and not the other way around, hence the title “Material You”. Back in 2014, Google’s design language for Android 4.4 (KitKat) was ‘Material Design’, and this year’s release is basically the evolution of that. Navigating the UI and switching between apps flows seamlessly and in a way that makes sense. Part of the “adapting to you” design language is the software’s use of AI and Machine Learning to pick a colour scheme for your phone based on your wallpaper. It’s as simple as setting your wallpaper... then accent colours are pulled from that wallpaper and used cleverly throughout most apps (at the moment) and even the keyboard on your device.

Another noticeable visual upgrade is that everything is more rounded, and it's present throughout the entire UI, all apps included. Widgets, quick settings and notifications for example are now rounded off. Instead of 6 quick settings available after one swipe (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb etc), it has been adapted to 4 settings that take up noticeably more screen real estate, to the dissatisfaction of many.

The second biggest set of features debuting in Android 12 is to do with Permissions and Privacy. Users now have the ability to choose between sharing their precise location or an approximate location with apps. For example you may want your weather app to have your precise location but a social media app to only have access to your approximate location.

Camera and mic usage is a touchy subject for some when it comes to their devices. In Android 12, a small green dot appears on screen whenever any app is making use of the phone’s camera or mic. It also allows you to cut off access immediately and keep track of which apps use what permissions on your phone at what time. It’s a huge step up from previous versions of Android.

Other small features include snoozing notifications and capturing more with scrolling screenshots. Aside from the few bugs experienced by some, the contradictory issue with Android 12 is the fact that you can no longer change system fonts, or icon shapes as in Android 11. But because it is Android, downloading a launcher can solve that issue and give you back all the customisation that you can expect from Android.