Yesterday, Google released the 2nd beta for Android 12 bringing with it a few new features that we expected to see in the first beta release. Thankfully, Google is beginning to introduce more of the features it debuted at I/O 2021 into this latest download. There’s a lot going on this time around, so let’s dive into what’s new in Android 12 beta 2. Material You theming begins to appear For all of the time that was spent on the Material You announcement during the I/O 2021 Keynote, we were a bit surprised to see the lack of theming integration in the first beta. But that’s beginning to be rectified in Android 12 beta 2, as you will notice that a few changes as soon as your phone finishes booting after the installation. Different elements have started to pull the colors from your wallpaper, including the big lock screen clock (that was already introduced in beta 1). This is clear across most of the system UI, as unlocking your phone and pulling your notification shade down also reveals new colors for the Quick Settings panel. The toggles themselves make use of the primary color, while your Android 12 device will use black as the backdrop. If you have a tendency of changing out your wallpapers on a regular basis or use something like Tapet to change wallpapers every day, then you’ll always be presented with different colors for your UI elements. Currently, it seems that you cannot override the color options just yet, as trying to do so in the Wallpapers & Styles section will leave the colors from your wallpaper on most parts of your phone, and only changes a few smaller elements here and there. Conversations Widget changes Making its way into the first Android 12 beta was the new Conversations Widget. This little widget brings quick and easy access to your most-used conversations across a myriad of different apps. With just a tap, you can go right into a specific conversation, versus opening the messaging app of choice and then trying to navigate and locate the contact that you’re looking for. The « problem » with the Conversations Widget in Beta 1 was that you could really tell that it needed some polish and finesse in order to make it easier to add conversations from more apps. For example, in the beginning, there wasn’t a « Conversations » section in the widget picker, but that’s since been changed. Plus, you might be scrolling through the « recent conversations », but not all apps would appear and that has since been rectified. Quick Tap When the Android 12 Developer Preview landed, there were quite a few new features introduced, save for all of the new theming options with Material You. One of the more exciting features was « Double Tap », allowing you to double-tap the back of your phone and perform a specific task like activating Google Assistant or taking a screenshot. While the feature was available in the Settings app, it did not actually properly work. With Android 12 Beta 2, this has been renamed to « Quick Tap », and is actually functioning properly for the most part. Some Pixel users who have updated to Beta 2 are still unable to enable the feature, but it’s working just fine on our Pixel 5. This can be accessed by opening the Settings app, scrolling down and selecting System, tapping Gestures, and selecting Quick Tap. From there, you are provided with the following options, in addition to a toggle at the top to enable it: Take screenshot Access your digital assistant Play or pause media See recent apps Show notifications Open app There’s even an optional toggle at the bottom to « Require stronger taps » which really come in handy for those who don’t want to accidentally activate the gesture throughout your daily usage.
