Android 12 Preview
Over the years, Android did help in anticipating all the complexities for billions of people across the globe. A recently added perk got Google to enliven a start for very new features for the android known as Android 12. The developers are pretty much engaged in creating new tools for user’s great experiences such as compatible media transcoding. This will help apps to function with the newest formats for video if it is not supported anymore, and easy copy/paste and fine content into the apps like videos and images. These new features, in fact, will also enhance a user’s privacy and security at the core.
New Features in Android 12 for Better User Experience
As mentioned earlier about new features and tools for enhancing privacy and security and compatible media transcoding, it has more to do with overall android revitalization. We have more to unveil the updated features where the Giant Tech developers had invested for smooth user experiences:
AVIF image support – Android 12 gives support to AV1 Image File Format (AVIF) to compress efficiently with higher image quality. This container format for images and series of images takes advantage of the intra-frame encoded content from video compression. This helps improve the quality of the new image for the same file with the older image formats like JPEG.
Compatible media transcoding – This feature introduces support for High Efficient Video Coding (HEVC). An android app that does not support HEVC can have the platform automatically transcode the file into Any Video Converter (AVC) which is extremely compatible. The feature will be active on all devices using HEVC format for video capture.
Foreground service optimizations – Android 12 ensures a better experience for users by blocking foreground service starts from the background especially for apps that are targeting the new platform. The feature introduces a new expedited job in JobScheduler to transition away from the complex pattern. JobScheduler elevated process priority, network access, and runs automatically regardless of power constraints. Also, to reduce disturbances for users, this feature will delay the display of some foreground service notifications by up to 10 seconds. This gives short-lived tasks a chance to complete before their notifications are shown.
Rich content insertion – Google understands that users love expressive content such as images and videos. Having to insert and move these contents in the app is not that easy. Therefore, with the introduction of a unified API, the content will be accepted from any source – clipboard, keyboard, or drag and drop. One can attach an OnReceiveContentListener, new interface, to UI components and get a callback when content is inserted through any mechanism.
Audio-coupled haptic effect – For an immersive gaming and audio experience, the Android 12 app will provide audio-coupled haptic feedback through the phone’s vibrator. One can customize ringtones for video calling or other calling to identify the caller or stimulate rough terrain in a video racing game.
Immersive mode API improvements for gesture navigation – This feature allows easier gesture navigation, more consistent, and protects apps from accidental gestures when in full-screen experiences. However, other full-screen or immersive experiences, for apps focusing on a new platform, helps allow users to navigate their phone with one swipe by changing the default.
Notification UI updates – Apps that target Android 12 will experience newly designed notifications with personalized content with icons and expand affordance to link with other notifications. Google developers are optimizing transitions and animations across the system to make the app more smooth.
Faster, more responsive notifications – Google developers will enhance this feature to keep notifications responsive and block notification trampolines by preventing them from launching their target Activities. Changes will be applied only to apps targeting the new platform, but all apps will display a toast to make trampolines visible to users.
Improved Binder IPC calls – The developers are putting a focus on reducing system variability as a part of work performance. They further have targeted improvements to system binder calls adding lightweight caching strategies and focusing on removing lock contention to improve latency distribution.
Privacy and Security Core
Google ensures that privacy is the heart of everything we do. Android 12 focuses on giving users more transparency and control with their devices and data security. The developers are enhancing the features targeting four important areas for users’ safety and security – Modern SameSite cookie behaviors in WebView, Restricted Netlink MAC, Safer exporting of components, Safer handling of Intents.
App Consistency and Compatibility Experience
The new platform will introduce faster and smoother updates by prioritizing app consistency and compatibility. Android 12 will make app-facing changes opt-in to save time and updated tools and processes for preparedness. Without much ado, the developers have added new functionality to the Google Play store to give apps a better environment on Android 12 devices. Android updates through Google Play – For enhanced app compatibility, Android 12 introduces Android Runtime (ART) module to push updates to the core runtime and libraries in its (Android 12) devices. It will also help expand the functionality of existing app modules, for a mention, delivering a compatible transcoding feature inside an updated module.
Optimizing for larger screen devices – Android 12 will make a move to get its features highly accessible and optimized for tablets, foldable, and TVs. In addition to bringing the latest Android features to the TV with this preview, you will also be able to test your apps on the all-new Google TV experience.
Updated lists of non-SDK interfaces – Android 12 will be restricting additional non-SDK interfaces.
Easier testing and debugging of changes – Google made many opt-in changes toggleable in Android 12 for easy testing to avoid damage in your app. The toggles will help a user force-enable or disable the changes individually from Developer options or ADB.
Platform Stability Milestone – The developers have strained to deliver not only final SDK/NDk APIs but also final internal APIs and app-facing behaviors. It is estimated to reach its Platform Stability by August 2021. One has enough time for final testing for app compatibility before the official release of Android 12.