Usually, when Google announces Android previews or betas, the company focuses on developer-oriented details like new APIs. But, as Android 12 Beta 2 rolls out today, Google is hyping up long-awaited user-facing changes, like the new Privacy Dashboard, the microphone and camera access indicators it’s been working on in various forms since 2019 (plus quick settings toggles for both), and a new “connectivity experience” that makes it easier to switch between data sources.
It’s unusual for early Android betas to include so many end user features. I hope this means the development process is farther along than usual as well, so OEMs can get started on the update process sooner, too.
I hope they fix more than they break and don’t remove any more permissions that are needed to make apps that do anything useful. Also – I hope they fixed the terrible replacement for external file access…
You mean like telling app developers mostly used to Java and Kotlin, that now they have to learn C++, JNI boilerplate, NDK and Vulkan if they want to keep running their Renderscripts?
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/renderscript/migrate
Yeah, stuff like that.
Well it at least doesn’t fail hard with out app. I installed the Beta 2 yesterday and all good so far. Except – they added an extra splash screen at start up….?! The app is still targeting Android 10, so I probably have no way to turn that off (if I even can…)
Because we access the external file system using the deprecated API, I was a bit fearful they would turn that off and I would need to migrate to the new media API (bear in mind, none of the files we access are photos, video or audio, so I don’t get why you get told to use that API now..) I guess we are stuck targeting 10 for now.
One of the joys of having old no longer updated phones is the update numbers turn into a meaningless blur. I’m sure those numbers mean a lot to anonymous managers basing their entire self worth on a job title or coders still young enough to be amazed like sheep when a cloud passes in front of the sun. Now, I grant you, mobile phones have their uses and are better in many ways than public telephone boxes reeking of urine and rotary phones which take an age to dial a number on but as long as they work and do the basics well enough I don’t really care what gimmick I will never use gets added or taken away.
You still have phone boxes in your country? Wow. We have none in any significant way. Any that are there generally don’t have phones anymore – there’s one in out village and I’m pretty sure it is empty but they left the box because it was more expensive to remove it than leave it in place..
I never said that. Don’t be stupid.
Meh, you kids these days with your fancy what-cha-ma-call-its. Back in my day, we used smoke signals. No need for any of that silly infrastructure other than twigs and a blanket. It build character, and we like it.
javiercero1,
Yeah, but that was back in the day when we didn’t care about carbon emissions 🙁
Can it finally do updates?
No. That’s what Google Fuchsia is for but I expect smartphones based on it in 2022 at the earliest.