The First Beta For Android 12L Is Finally Here!

After announcing Android 12L back in October at the Android Dev Summit, the first beta for this new version of Android is finally here.

Android 12L is a new version of Android that is really focused on foldables and tablets. So you won’t be able to flash it on every single Pixel out there. The Android 12L beta is available on the Lenovo Tab P12 Pro Tablet. But, you can flash it onto a Pixel by enrolling in the beta program here. However you won’t see these changes on any Pixel device, due to the fact that the screen is not large enough. So it may not be worth it to enroll your Pixel 6 into the beta program.

So what’s available in the first beta?

Android 12L Beta 1 brings in some improvements to functionality over the previous developer preview. It also includes plenty of bug fixes, optimizations and the December 2021 Security Patch.

Google says that with Android 12L, it has focused on refining the UI for large screen devices. That includes notifications, quick settings, lockscreen overview, home screen and much more. Basically, for those with screens that are over 600dpi, the notification shade, lockscreen and other system surfaces will use a new two-column layout. That way it is able to take advantage of the additional space.

With Android 12L, Google also made multitasking more intuitive and powerful. It now includes a taskbar on large screens that let users instantly switch to favorite apps on the fly or drag-and-drop apps into split-screen mode. Don’t forget that starting with Android 12, users are able to launch any app into split screen mode.

Google has also improved a number of APIs and other tools to help developers build for larger screens. It’s a very exciting time for those that have foldables and tablets that run Android. As it looks like Google is taking another stab at making tablets work.