We’ve ranked all of the best new features that have been added to Google Pixel devices as part of the Android 12 Developer Beta 3.
The stable Android 12 release has inched ever closer, with Android 12 Beta 3 dropping just a month after the second build. Following our other deep dives, we’ve been spending time with Android 12 Beta 3 to find the best new features and changes that you can try right now. Android 12 is going to provide one of the biggest updates for years. Not only does it look very different from what has been available on many of our favorite devices, but there are also plenty of under-the-hood tweaks to contend with. Because we’re now three builds into the public-facing beta phase, we are tantalizingly close to platform stability, but that doesn’t mean that Google is holding back on new additions. The releases have been thick and fast, we’re only just catching our breath from the first and second Android 12 Beta releases, and we have Beta 3 to get to grips with. If you have already enrolled, you should soon receive an OTA update that contains the latest July 2021 security patch, plus all of the new UI and system-level tweaks coming with this patch. If you haven’t already tried the Android 12 Beta and want to sign up, we have a short little guide to help you get enrolled, but this process is very quick and easy. Basically, head to the Android 12 Beta sign-up page, and you can opt-in — or out — to try the latest pre-release OS build for yourself. That is, provided you have a Pixel 3/3 XL or a newer Made by Google phone. Subscribe to 9to5Google on YouTube for more videos After what feels like an age, Google is finally adding the ability to take scrolling screenshots with Android 12 Beta 3. To say this feature is long overdue is an understatement, and we’ve seen multiple OEMs simply adopt their own implementations to make up for the lack of options within the “core” build of Android. It’s a fairly standard tool that allows you to expand the regular screenshot option out of your display view. When initiating a screenshot, the floating menu introduced back in Android 11 will now including a “Capture more” toggle that will allow you to expand what else is captured. It’s quite a different way of grabbing the entire fully expanded page view and then just letting you crop to what you want. There is a caveat, though. At least in Android 12 Beta 3, the scrolling screenshot feature doesn’t appear to work with websites, which is a real bummer. We’re sure that it will be tweaked and tuned ahead of the full Android 12 release in the coming months. Otherwise, it’s not exactly the most useful outside of on-device apps. To help improve auto-rotation accuracy, you can toggle face detection so that when putting your device into portrait or landscape, it will react much faster. It’s hard to say if this new option makes a huge difference, but while it might be the placebo effect in action, it does feel a little bit snappier than previously. The Wallpaper & style section has been on the receiving end of an overhaul with Android 12 Beta 3.
