Android 12 Developer Preview 2 Out For Google Pixel Smartphones: Widget Picker, Better PIP Mode and More Included

The first developer preview of Android 12 is only available to Pixel users, but won't come to the Pixel 2 and the original Pixel smartphones.

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The second developer preview for the next version of Android is now live. Google announced the first developer preview of Android 12 last night, and the software will be coming to eligible Pixel devices. You can download the Android 12 developer preview on the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G and the Pixel 5 smartphones. If you’re on a preview build of Android on your Pixel device already, then Android 12’s new preview will come as an over-the-air update for you. “In Android 12 we’re making the OS smarter, easier to use, and better performing, with privacy and security at the core. We’re also working to give you new tools for building great experiences for users, whether they’re using phones, laptops, tablets, TVs, or cars,” said Dave Burke, VP of Engineering at Google, via a blog post.

How to download Android 12 developer preview

As mentioned above, the Android 12 developer preview is only available for eligible Pixel devices right now. Those who are using the original Pixel and Pixel 2 series will not be able to get the preview. For those on later versions, Google recommends using the Android Flash Tool for getting Android 12 developer preview.
You can also sideload Android 12 on an existing Android 11 powered device, or download the Android emulator. More details for how to do the same are available on this page.
Lastly, XDA Developers has a very useful page for downloading system images of Android 12, sorted by device. You can use the links provided on this page.

Android 12 new features

Many of Android 12’s features had been leaked before, but we haven’t had confirmation of the same yet. Well, we do now, so here’s what’s coming to the platform.

  • Check for rounded corners: Android 12 will allow developers to check whether a phone’s screen has rounded corners, and tweak the appearance accordingly. “Many modern devices use screens with rounded corners, giving them a clean modern look, but also introducing some extra considerations for app developers. To deliver a great UX on these devices, developers need to account for the rounded corners and adjust any nearby UI elements to prevent them from being truncated,” Google said in its blog post.
  • Notification controls: You also get new visibility controls for notifications, which will get apps to prompt for additional instructions when making changes through notifications.
  • Picture In Picture (PIP) improvements: Apps will also be enable to resize for picture in picture playback much more easily now. Android 12 will enable auto-PIP for apps, which makes the system directly move to PIP for apps that support it, when you swipe up to go home.

We’re still combing through the software to find more updates, and we’ll be updating you with new features soon.