Top Android 12 Features to Explore Now

Google has finally released the Pixel 6 series smartphones. Along with it, the tech giant also released its Android 12 mobile operating system with the new Material You design that has been in development and in the news for quite some time. Google has announced that Android 12 will begin rolling out to Pixel 3 and above starting today.

Google says the newly released Android 12 "delivers even more personal, safe and effortless experiences on your device. It features a totally reimagined and personalized user interface, new privacy features that are designed for your safety, and more seamless ways to get right into your gameplay or even switch to a new device."

Here are the top Android 12 features coming to Android smartphones:

1. When you change your wallpaper, the entire Android 12 experience changes to match its colour due to the material you design. This feature will be available first on Pixel smartphones and will be coming to more smartphones soon.
2. By the end of this month, Android users can try more than a dozen totally new or updated widgets from Google apps right on their home screens.
3. Now, users can see when an application is using their microphone or camera through an indicator in the status bar of their phone. If you don't want any app to access your microphone or camera, you can completely disable those sensors using two new switches in Quick Settings.
4. Android 12 is getting new visibility features. A new window magnifier allows users to zoom in on part of their screens while preserving the rest of the screen context. The extra dim display lighting is perfect for night scrolling or other situations where even the lowest brightness setting is too bright. Users can even adjust bold text or grayscale colours to make it easier to read.
5. Android 12 allows users to choose between giving applications access to their precise location or an approximate location.
6. Android 12 includes new Bluetooth permissions that allow companion applications to connect to devices such as watches or headphones without the need to access user location information.
7. Android 12 includes a new privacy panel that gives users a clear and comprehensive view of when applications access their location, camera or microphone during the last 24 hours. They can manage permissions directly from the dashboard if they see something they're not comfortable with.
8. On Android 12, selected games will allow users to play while they download, so they can jump straight into the game without waiting for the full download to finish.
9. Android 12 also resets unused app permissions and removes cached files to help free up space on users' devices.
10. Android 12 has new scrolling screenshots that will allow users to capture all the content on the page in one image.
11. Android 12 has a Close Share feature that allows users to share passwords with ease. All users need to do is open their Wi-Fi settings, select the network they want, and tap "Share."
12. Android 12 also makes it easy for users to transfer all their essentials, memories, messages and data to a new Android phone. "All it takes is a Wi-Fi connection to transfer from your old phone, or your phone cable if you switch from an iPhone," Google wrote in a blog post.