Android 12L is Google’s latest attempt to optimize Android for tablets, foldables, Chrome OS devices

guest · Oct 27, 2021

Android 12L is Google’s latest attempt to optimize Android for tablets, foldables, and Chrome OS devices
October 27, 2021
https://www.xda-developers.com/android-12l-optimize-android-tablets-foldables-chrome-os/

Amonth before Google officially announced Android 12, we spotted some evidence within the AOSP Gerrit suggesting that Google would release an incremental update after Android 12. Soon after that, we got our first look at this interim update and learned that it would pack a couple of new features optimized for foldable devices. Previously, we referred to this update as Android 12.1, but Google has now confirmed that it will be called Android 12L.
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Android 12L feature drop
At the Android Dev Summit today, Google officially announced Android 12L — a feature drop for Android 12 purpose-built for large screen devices. As we spotted previously, Android 12L will pack new APIs, tools, and guidance to help developers optimize their apps for large screen devices like foldables, tablets, and Chromebooks. It brings several UI refinements to make Android more usable on large screens.

Google has worked on making multitasking more powerful and intuitive in Android 12L.
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Android 12L Developer Preview
Google plans to release the Android 12L feature drop early next year, in time for next-gen Android 12 tablets and foldables. The company is already working with OEM partners to bring these new features to large-screen devices. If you’re an app developer, you’d be glad to know that Google has already released a developer preview build of Android 12L.

You can try the Android 12L Developer Preview by downloading the Android 12L Emulator system images and tools from the latest preview release of Android Studio. Make sure you review all the features and changes to test your apps ahead of the stable rollout, and check out the preview overview for the timeline and release details.
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NormanF · Oct 27, 2021

Third time's the charm given the fragmented state of the Google ecosystem. Here Apple has a huge head advantage.

guest · Oct 27, 2021

Google aims to make app development easier for large-screen devices
October 27, 2021
https://www.xda-developers.com/google-android-12l-app-development-large-screen-devices/

It’s a well-known fact that the Android experience on large-screen devices is far from perfect.
Google aims to change that with Android 12L. To help developers get their apps ready for the update, the company has shared new tools and guidelines.

At the Android Dev Summit today, Google announced new Material Design guidelines to help developers design adaptive apps that scale well on any screen size. The guidelines cover common layout patterns prevalent in the ecosystem to inspire developers and help them optimize their apps to behave nicely on both small and large screens. In addition, the guidelines outline how developers can provide the best possible navigation experience across screen sizes.

In a blog post, Google notes: “The recommended navigation patterns include using a navigation bar for compact screens and a navigation rail for medium-width device classes and larger (600dp+). For expanded-width devices, there are several ideas on larger screen layouts within our newly released Material Design guidance such as a List/Detail structure that can be implemented, using SlidingPaneLayout.”
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Google also urges developers to use the Jetpack Compose toolkit to build the UI for their apps. The company explains that using Jetpack Compose can help developers easily optimize the UI, as all UI is described in code.
WindowManager APIs
Google has introduced new WindowManager APIs to help developers build responsive UIs that adjust to any screen size. [...]
Google Play on large screens
Lastly, Google has also announced some changes for Google Play on large screen devices like tablets and Chromebooks. The company has added new checks to assess each app’s quality against the new large screen app quality guidelines.
In addition, Google will introduce large screen-specific app ratings on the Play Store. These changes will roll out next year.
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guest · Feb 10, 2022

Google boasts that Chrome's multitasking usage increases 18x on large screens
February 9, 2022

Android 12L has been available as a beta for the past couple of months now. For those unaware, the Android flavor is designed for devices with large screens such as foldables, tablets, and ChromeOS devices. That said, phones are supported too. In a bid to tout the usability improvements of apps on large screen devices, Google has now shared some statistics regarding the usage of its Chrome browser.

Google says that in order to ensure feature parity in terms of multitasking and productivity between the desktop version of Chrome and that being used on large screen devices such as foldable and tablets, the development team has been experimenting with several capabilities.
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Android Developers Blog / Google: Chrome’s multitasking usage increases 18x on large screens

The team first decided to focus on building a way for people to open multiple Chrome windows (instances) side by side. They took advantage of 12L features such as the taskbar and also took advantage of the Samsung edge panel.

The team researched usability best practices, observed other multi-window experiences on large screen devices, and thought through limitations to ensure optimal device memory usage. They determined people could comfortably use up to five windows side by side on large screen devices, and the team updated their app to support this functionality.
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Results
This is a new feature, and the Chrome team has already seen that multi-instance for the Chrome app is used 42% more on tablets and foldables than on phones that support the feature. This usage demonstrates the functionality resonated well with Chrome users on large screen devices, and that it was worth investing in building these features to enhance the experience for Chrome users on large screens.
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guest · Jul 25, 2022

Google enhances Workspace apps for Android's larger screens
July 25, 2022

Now, whether you are working from home or from your office, Google is bringing ways that can help you save time and be even more productive with the Google Workspace updates for larger screens of your android devices. The Workspace apps getting the latest features to make online work easier include Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Keep.

Currently, we do not know when precisely the large screens of your Androids with Google Workspace and personal Google Accounts will get these updates, but the tech giant says it will happen over the next few weeks.
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Google: New Google Workspace features for Android's larger screens

Earlier this year Android introduced 12L, a software update to make devices with bigger screens, like tablets, easier to use. At I/O, we shared plans to update more than 20 Google apps on tablets to take full advantage of the extra space on those bigger screens.

To get started, today we are making Google Workspace apps even better on Android’s larger screens with updates to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Keep.
Drag and drop files for better productivity
One of the best features to get things done on tablets is multitasking across two windows at once. So we’ve built out new ways to use Google Workspace apps when you have two screens open on your large-screen device.
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Open Drive side by side to see more information
In Drive, sometimes you need to drill down into folders to see the file you need. To get better insights into your Drive files, you can now open two Drive windows side-by-side. Simply select the three-dot menu on any Drive file and tap on the "Open in new window" option. This helps you get the information you need without losing your current view or needing to hit the back button multiple times.
Save time by using keyboard shortcuts
Tablets are often connected to keyboards and used as an alternative to laptops. If you are using an attached keyboard to help type, you can now use simple and familiar keyboard shortcuts, such as select, cut, copy, paste, undo and redo, to quickly navigate around Drive, Docs and Slides, without needing to slow down and take your hands off the keys.
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These updates will roll out to Android’s large screens with Google Workspace and personal Google Accounts over the next few weeks. And stay tuned for more updates as we continue to add new features for Google apps on Android’s larger screens.
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guest · Sep 3, 2022

Galaxy Tab S8 Series gets Taskbar and Split Screen improvements with Android 12L update
By Paul Hill @ziks297 - September 1, 2022

Samsung has announced that its Galaxy Tab S8 Series devices will be getting a bunch of new enhancements with a new Android 12L update. The update brings improvements to the Taskbar and Split Screen features and brings the ability to see through pop-up boxes.

With this update, Samsung has made the taskbar more responsive and sleeker. You can use it to tap between your different apps more easily. You can also pull up your two most recently used apps from the Taskbar. The Taskbar also makes it easy to view your apps in split screen, just drag and drop two or three apps onto your screen to see sessions side-by-side.
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Aside from dragging apps from the Taskbar, you can also use Swipe for Split Screen to open apps side-by-side.
This update also brings a feature called App Pair to save screen layouts.

Finally, the update introduces peek-through for pop-overs so that you can see the content behind the pop-up without closing the pop-up. This should make using tablets a lot less annoying. To invoke peek-through, just tap and hold on the rest of the app behind the pop-up and the pop-up will turn transparent.
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Samsung has said that the update will arrive on Galaxy Tab S8 Series devices first but the Tab S7 Series, Tab S7 FE, Tab S6, Tab S6 Lite, and Tab Active3 will also get the update soon.
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Samsung: Android’s 12L Update Is Bringing Taskbar, Split Screen and UI Enhancements to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 Series

Now, with Android’s 12L updates, the flagship tablet’s large-screen experience is even more optimized, with updates coming to the Galaxy Tab S8 series and to other Galaxy tablets soon after.

A notable change the 12L update will bring to the Galaxy Tab S8 series is the addition of a taskbar at the bottom of the screen, making the tablet’s UI more intuitive and user-friendly than ever before. Going forward, Galaxy Tab S8 series users can enjoy swifter, more intuitive app switching, more customizable layouts, frictionless multitasking and applications that render better than ever on large screens. Split Screen View can support up to three screens, the taskbar can be temporarily hidden for a more immersive screen view, notifications can be dragged straight into split screen and all apps can be viewed in a grid-style layout, to name a few of the changes users can expect.
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guest · Sep 5, 2022

Samsung officially launches Android 12L for foldables, Wear OS 3.5 for Galaxy Watch 4
By Ben Schoon @NexusBen - September 4, 2022

Two big updates are headed out to Galaxy devices starting this week, as Samsung has just announced Android 12L for its older foldable smartphones, as well as Wear OS 3.5 for the Galaxy Watch 4 series.

Rolling out starting today, Android 12L is heading to the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. The update arrives as a part of One UI 4.1.1, the software version that runs out of the box on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4.
Beyond last year’s foldables, this update will also be heading to the Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Z Flip/5G, and the original Galaxy Fold.
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Samsung: The Latest Features of Galaxy Z Fold4, Z Flip4 and Watch5 Series Are Coming to Previous Generations

From expanded customization options to intuitive multitasking and productivity features, the latest update will allow even more users to enhance how they interact with everyday life.
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guest · Sep 5, 2022

Android 12L starts rolling out to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7
By Ben Schoon @NexusBen - September 5, 2022

Over the past week, Samsung has finally launched Android 12L for its foldables and tablets, several months after the update was first launched by Google. Now, the Galaxy Tab S7 is getting its first taste of Android 12L.

Now, Samsung is rolling out Android 12L to the Galaxy Tab S7 series with One UI 4.1.1.
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So far, as SamMobile notes, Android 12L is rolling out to the Galaxy Tab S7 and Tab S7+ in South Korea and France. However, the update should be headed to more regions over the coming weeks. The update carries the version numbers T870XXU2CVH3 and T970XXU2CVH3 for the Tab S7 and S7+, respectively.
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guest · Oct 8, 2022

Android 12L will bring Windows 11 design bits to Surface Duo
By Taras Buria @TarasBuria - October 6, 2022

Microsoft is getting ready to update the duo of its Android smartphones to Android 12L. According to a new report, Microsoft is finalizing the update and preparing to ship it in the next few weeks.
Android 12L for the original and second-gen Surface Duo will introduce design bits borrowed from Windows 11.

The next major update for Microsoft's dual-screen smartphones features new design elements inspired by Windows 11's Fluent Design. Customers can expect visual changes in the notification center, activity feed, etc.
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Microsoft previously tried to stick to Google's design guidelines and keep the operating system more or less similar to the stock Android offers. The company now wants to move away from this paradigm and focus on making the Surface Duo smartphones "an extension of your Windows PC."

Android 12L will be available for the original and second-gen Surface Duo. Expect it to land later this month or in early November.
Source: Windows Central
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guest · Oct 25, 2022

Android 12L for Surface Duo and Duo 2 is now available
By Taras Buria @TarasBuria - October 25, 2022

Microsoft has finally started rolling out the Android 12L upgrade for its dual-screen smartphones. According to the company, the latest release builds "stronger connections between your Windows 11 PC and your Duo device, making your everyday easier."
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Besides giving the Surface Duo [...] and Duo 2 a version of Android, this month's update delivers a major visual refresh with familiar visuals and coherence. Microsoft says Surface Duo devices now use "aligned visual language" for core system components across Windows and Android, such as unified iconography, colors, and UI controls (as rumored before).

Android 12L for the Surface Duo and Duo 2 also features a new Pen menu you can invoke by clicking the shortcut button on the Surface Slim Pen 2 (demonstrated below).
Other improvements in Android 12L for Microsoft's dual-screen smartphones include updated widgets, better accessibility with a more spacious design and contrast optimizations, and a new Privacy dashboard that keeps track of camera, microphone, and location usage.
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You can download the update on unlocked variants of Microsoft's smartphones. The update size is 2.6GB for the first-gen Surface Duo and 3.2GB for the Surface Duo 2.
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