Android 12 Developer Preview 2 is Now Available
Google announced the availability of the second Developer Preview release for Android 12 today, adding more new features and changes to test.
“Today we’re bringing you the next milestone build in this year’s release,” Google VP of Engineering Dave Burke announced. “Our program of early previews is driven by our core philosophy of openness and collaboration with you, our community. Your input helps us make Android a better platform for developers and users.”
Typically, with these releases, Android enthusiasts find all the fun new features after the announcement, but here’s a selection of improvements that Google did reveal:
Extended security for lock screen notification actions. Android 12 adds finer-grained privacy and security controls for notifications displayed on the device lock screen. You can now configure notification actions so that when triggered from the lock screen, they will always generate an authentication challenge.
Support for Rounded corners. Many modern devices use screens with rounded corners, and developers need to account for those corners and adjust any nearby UI elements to prevent them from being truncated. Android 12 will include APIs to help with that.
Companion device support improvements. Apps that manage companion devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers, need to ensure that the app is running and connected whenever an associated companion device is nearby. To make this easier, Android 12 introduces a new CompanionDeviceService API.
As with the first preview, this version is only available on supported Pixels, including Pixel 3/3 XL, Pixel 3a/3a XL, Pixel 4/4 XL, Pixel 4a/4a 5G, and Pixel 5. You can learn more about this release on the Android Developer website.