The latest version of Android is now official, with Google touting a new look for Android 12.
At Google IO 2021 the tech giant announced Android 12, and it’s touting a refreshed UI and much more. You won’t be able to actually download the finished Android 12 update straight away, though, as the final release will probably come towards the end of the year. Some users can download the Android 12 beta though, including anyone with a Pixel 3 or newer, plus owners of the Xiaomi Mi 11, OnePlus 9 and more. You’ll find a full list below, while for instructions head to our how to get the Android 12 beta on your phone guide. As for the finished version, expect the Google Pixel 6 to come with Android 12 on it in September or October. That will probably be the first device to ship with the update, and while Android 12 will probably come to other Pixel phones quickly, if you’ve got another Android phone you’ll likely have to wait a bit longer, as each company has to tailor Android 12 to their phone before it runs. Android 12 is the 2021 update for Google’s Android operating system, building on 2020’s Android 11, which some phones still don’t have. But this is more than just an iterative update – Google describes it as the biggest design change in Android’s history. We’ve listed all the official Android 12 features that have been showcased at Google IO, and we’ll update this article as soon as we learn more – and continue updating it as Android 12 rolls out to phones. Android 12 was announced at Google IO 2021, and is out in beta for select devices now, including phones from Oppo, Nokia, OnePlus, Xiaomi, ZTE, Asus, TCL and iQOO – as well of course as plenty of Pixels. You can find the full list in the section below. The final finished version of Android 12 will likely land in September or October based on past releases of the OS, though most likely only on a small number of handsets to begin with, such as the Google Pixel 5 and Google Pixel 4a, along with the upcoming Google Pixel 6, assuming such a phone launches. It will be up to device manufacturers to bring Android 12 to your phone, and that often takes months to do, so don’t be surprised if your specific handset doesn’t get Android 12 until 2022. Android 12 will likely roll out to the majority of phones that came out in the last year or two, though some may be waiting a long time for it. It’s guaranteed to hit every modern Pixel handset though, probably from the Pixel 3 onwards, given that those models support the beta. Speaking of the beta, we can look at the list of compatible phones for that to get some clues as to which might be first in line for the finished Android 12. They are as follows: So we’d expect all of these would get the final Android 12 release, and likely quite quickly (with the Pixels getting it on day one). Major recent handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S21 range are sure to as well though, and even most lower end and less popular phones probably will, if they’re recent.
