In the early hours of March 18, the second Android 12 Developer Preview (DP2 or DP2) went live as scheduled, and we are one step closer to the public Beta in May.
So until it goes into public beta, Android 12 will still only be available on a select number of Google Pixel devices. If you don't have one or don't want to risk the upgrade but want to keep up with the new features and features of the next Android operating system, follow this article to find out.
The smell of a new theme engine is everywhere.
We were pretty impressed by the light blue background across a lot of the Android 12 DP1 interface, and it turned out to be the groundwork for a new theme engine based on wallpaper colouring.
Because the new version of the theme engine, code-named Monet, is still not available in Android 12 DP2, the blue background of DP1's bright theme has been temporarily removed.
However, there are a lot of theme-related UI adjustments, such as the high contrast separation line in the system Settings everywhere, the global light grey background in the dark theme that is more consistent with Google's specifications, similar to the concept design that was exposed earlier, the new design of the panel menu, and so on:
High contrast dividing lines, a more standard dark theme background colour scheme and a new panel menu
This change in colour, or theme, can be seen throughout DP2. For example, we've been focusing on media player control. Android 12 DP2 doesn't adjust for the poor layout of the buttons. Still, the background colour of the media control follows the system to emphasize the paint, rather than the current Android 11 strategy of filling music album covers with colour.
Finally, Android 12 DP2's multitasking interface also pulls app ICONS up from the app window's top, making them appear to hover above the app window.
This will take up more space, but since many Android devices have screen ratios of 20:9 or 21:9, a small change can make the multitasking interface layout look more coordinated.
