Android 12
Android 12 is the twelfth major release and nineteenth version of the Android mobile operating system, developed as part of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) led by Google and the Open Handset Alliance.[1] Released to AOSP on October 4, 2021, it marked the first stable public rollout starting with Google Pixel devices on October 19, 2021, following a developer preview program that began on February 18, 2021, and the first public beta on May 18, 2021, which together involved over 225,000 testers.[2][3] The release introduced Material You, a dynamic design language that personalizes the user interface by extracting colors from the user's wallpaper to generate adaptive themes across system elements, widgets, and compatible apps, representing Google's largest visual overhaul since Android 5.0 Lollipop.[4][5] Key privacy enhancements included the Privacy Dashboard, a centralized timeline showing recent app access to sensitive permissions like camera, microphone, and location, alongside indicators such as colored dots in the status bar for active usage and an approximate location option to limit precise tracking.[4][3] Performance improvements featured faster animations, core system services using 22% less CPU time, and new APIs like AppSearch for on-device content indexing, while user experience upgrades encompassed revamped notifications, scrollable screenshots, and refined Picture-in-Picture mode with gestures like pinch-to-zoom.[2][4] Android 12 also laid groundwork for larger devices with optimizations for foldables, tablets, and Chromebooks, including better multitasking and media playback controls, and it supported new media formats like AVIF for images and enhanced haptic feedback through APIs such as VibrationEffect.Composition.[4] The update rolled out to other manufacturers later in 2021 and into 2022, with security support ending on March 31, 2025; devices from Samsung, OnePlus, Oppo, Xiaomi, and others received it via customized skins like One UI 4.0, emphasizing backward compatibility for developers targeting API level 31.[2][1][6]Development
Announcement
Google announced the development of Android 12 on February 18, 2021, through the release of its first Developer Preview, marking the initial public reveal of the platform's upcoming iteration.[7] This preview highlighted a strategic focus on creating a more personal, expressive, secure, and robust operating system to enhance user experience across devices.[7] Central to the announcement were key design principles aimed at personalization and expressiveness, including the introduction of Material You for adaptive theming that allows users to customize interfaces based on their preferences, alongside improved privacy controls and smoother performance optimizations.[1] Privacy enhancements emphasized better management of user data, such as new controls over tracking identifiers and safer defaults for app components to prevent unauthorized access.[7] Performance improvements targeted robustness, with optimizations like expedited JobScheduler jobs and restrictions on foreground services to ensure more efficient resource use.[7] The initial Developer Previews were made available starting in February 2021 exclusively for Google Pixel devices, including the Pixel 5, Pixel 4a (5G and standard), and Pixel 4 series, as well as the Android Emulator for broader testing.[7] These previews included new APIs specifically for customization, such as rich content insertion for personalized app experiences, and security features like modern SameSite cookie behaviors in WebView to bolster protection against cross-site tracking.[7] Developers were encouraged to provide feedback to refine these elements ahead of subsequent testing phases.Beta program
The Android 12 beta program commenced with the release of Beta 1 on May 18, 2021, initially available exclusively for Google Pixel devices starting from the Pixel 3 series and later models, allowing developers and early adopters to test core features including the Material You design system introduced in the prior announcement.[8] This initial phase focused on gathering feedback to refine the user interface and system behaviors ahead of platform stability.[1] Subsequent betas expanded device support to include select non-Pixel handsets from manufacturers such as OnePlus and Samsung; for instance, the OnePlus 9 series joined in Beta 1, while Samsung's Galaxy S21 lineup participated in later iterations starting around Beta 5 in September 2021, broadening testing across diverse hardware configurations.[9] Beta 2 arrived on June 9, 2021, Beta 3 on July 14, 2021, and Beta 4 on August 11, 2021, marking the achievement of platform stability where app-facing APIs and behaviors were finalized.[10][11] Throughout the program, feedback from participants via the Android Beta program's issue tracker and developer channels drove iterative improvements, particularly in bug fixes for UI stability—such as resolving crashes in the redesigned quick settings and notification shade—and refinements to privacy APIs, including enhancements to the approximate location permission and microphone/camera indicators.[12] Compatibility testing for third-party apps was a priority, with each beta incorporating fixes for runtime behaviors and ensuring seamless integration with the new dynamic theming engine, based on reported issues from enrolled devices.[1] Over 225,000 users participated in the Android 12 beta program, contributing nearly 50,000 issue reports.[2]Release timeline
The stable version of Android 12 was released on October 19, 2021, becoming available first on the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, along with select older Pixel models including the Pixel 3 through Pixel 5 series.[1][13] The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) source code for Android 12 was made publicly available earlier on October 4, 2021, enabling developers and custom ROM communities to begin building and testing implementations.[2] Following the initial Pixel launch, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) initiated their rollouts over the subsequent months. Samsung began deploying One UI 4 based on Android 12 in late November 2021 for the Galaxy S21 series in select regions, with broader availability expanding to devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 starting in December 2021, and continuing through early 2022 for mid-range models.[14][15] OnePlus commenced stable OxygenOS 12 updates for the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro in December 2021, followed by older flagships like the OnePlus 8 series in early 2022.[16][17] Xiaomi started its global MIUI 13 rollout based on Android 12 in Q1 2022, beginning with flagship devices such as the Mi 11 series in late January and extending to other models through mid-2022.[18][19] Adoption timelines varied significantly by OEM, device tier, and geographic region, influenced by certification processes and carrier approvals, with many budget and mid-range devices achieving full deployment by mid-2022. For Google Pixel devices, security updates supporting Android 12 continued until October 2026 for the Pixel 6 series, marking the end of official patch support for those models, while the AOSP release facilitated ongoing community-driven maintenance for custom ROMs.[20][21]Design and interface
Material You theming
Material You represents the core adaptive theming system introduced in Android 12, enabling a highly personalized user interface by dynamically generating color palettes derived from the user's selected wallpaper.[22] The system extracts a source color from the wallpaper image using algorithmic analysis to identify prominent hues, then applies color science to create cohesive tonal palettes that ensure accessibility and visual harmony across the operating system.[23] These palettes are applied to UI elements such as icons, buttons, notifications, and even dynamic wallpapers, allowing the entire interface to adapt fluidly to the user's aesthetic preferences without manual intervention.[24] The theming process begins with palette generation, where the system produces five key colors—primary, secondary, tertiary, neutral, and a neutral variant—from the extracted source color. Each key color is expanded into a tonal palette consisting of 13 shades, ranging from light to dark variants to support elevation and depth in the Material Design language.[23] This is powered by the internal "Monet" theme engine, which employs monochromatic palette generation to derive pastel-toned schemes that maintain consistency while providing subtle vibrancy, ensuring the UI remains expressive yet restrained. Developers can integrate this functionality through the Dynamic Color API, introduced in Android 12, which allows apps to access and apply these palettes via methods likeDynamicColors.applyToActivitiesIfAvailable(), automatically handling theme overlays for both light and dark modes.[25] The API supports a broad spectrum of color variations by generating distinct schemes for different interaction states and modes, enabling over a thousand potential combinations based on wallpaper inputs while prioritizing contrast ratios for readability (e.g., at least 4.5:1 for text).[23]
Material You theming launched exclusively on Google Pixel devices with the stable release of Android 12 in October 2021, where it was enabled by default for system-wide personalization.[22] By late 2021, it expanded to other manufacturers' custom skins, such as Samsung's One UI 4.0, which incorporated adaptive color extraction for select apps and UI components starting with the Galaxy S21 series rollout in November 2021 and broadening to more devices in 2022.[26] Subsequent Android versions and OEM updates, including those from OnePlus and Xiaomi, further integrated the system, making dynamic theming a standard feature across compatible devices by mid-2022.[24]