Android 12 DP1 preps a Conversations widget, but it isn’t ready yet

We got our first look at Android 12 earlier this month when an alleged early draft summarizing all the upcoming changes surfaced online. The document included several screenshots that showcased the new notifications panel UI, a couple of new privacy features, and a new Conversations widget. Now that Google has finally rolled out the first Android 12 developer preview, we can confirm that Google is indeed working on adding the Conversations widget in Android 12.

The following screenshot confirms the existence of the Conversations widget in Android 12, and it sheds some light on how the widget will work once it rolls out with a future release. Based on the screenshot, we believe that after you place a Conversations widget on your homescreen, you’ll get the option to pick a particular conversation to add to the widget. Once added, the widget will let you keep track of that particular conversation by showing recent messages, missed calls, or activity statuses.

The Conversations widget currently seems to be a work in progress as it doesn’t list any conversations, and we haven’t managed to add it to the homescreen yet. Nonetheless, we now have a good idea of what to expect once it rolls out with a future release of Android 12. Until then, you can check out the leaked screenshots attached below to get an idea of what the Conversations widget may look like.

What’s your take on the new Conversations widget in Android 12? I honestly don’t see the appeal of cluttering up my homescreen with multiple 2×1 widgets to keep track of conversations, no matter how important they are. I would much rather prefer a larger 4×2 widget with pages that would let me check multiple conversations without taking too much space on my homescreen. Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Also, check out this post to learn about all the new features included in the first Android 12 developer preview.

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Android 12 is adding a native one-handed mode

One-handed mode has been a thing for quite some time in iOS as well as some Android smartphones, and it’s for a simple reason: phones have kept getting bigger and bigger. While this trend has somewhat stalled, nowadays it’s not uncommon to see devices with displays from 6.5 inches to 6.9 inches, from flagship devices all the way down to the low end of the spectrum. Using one of these phones one-handed is a challenge, and OEMs have come up with a lot of ways to help to make one-handed usage easier, including one-handed mode, which basically moves UI elements closer to reach or outright just shrinks the display. A feature like this has notably been absent from Android natively… at least, that is, until now.

A deep dive into Android 12‘s first Developer Preview has revealed that Google is currently working on baking one-handed mode into Android natively. Now, I should clarify here that while we did get the feature to work well enough to cover it, it is currently not live on the first Android 12 Developer Preview, so you shouldn’t expect to simply install Android 12 and enable it.

Here’s Android 12’s one-handed mode – fully working. Sadly, it’s like Apple’s Reachability (vertically downsizing) rather than OHM on most OEM software (both horizontal and vertical downsizing). pic.twitter.com/IznRVHTgPu

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) February 18, 2021

It is quite similar to Apple’s Reachability mode where, instead of shrinking the display both vertically and horizontally to make it easier to reach with your thumb, the display is instead only shrunk vertically, bringing down the top of the display for easier reachability. It probably still needs some work, though: there’s a reason why Google has not made it available for users in this Developer Preview yet, after all, so we might see a more finalized version (that users can actually enable and try out on their own) on a future preview. Of course, there’s also the possibility that this feature might be scrapped altogether from the final version of Android 12, as Android 12 is still in an early phase of development.

Still, this is excellent news for owners of big phones. This feature is present in some custom OEM skins as well as some custom ROMs, but they normally shrink the display both vertically and horizontally instead of an implementation like this. Concerns with one-handed usage still exist when we’re talking big phones, and shrinking the display or bringing UI elements, such as the status bar, closer to reach with your thumb, can help offset this.

Are you excited about Android 12?

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Hands-on with Android 12 Developer Preview: Here are the new features

Google just dropped the first Android 12 Developer Preview a few hours ago. Even though Android 12 “Snow Cone” is still a good six months away from the stable release, the Developer Preview reveals a good deal about what stock Android is likely to look like with this iteration. The recent Android 12 leaks and the long list of expected Android 12 features have kept us excited. And now, we are actually getting to use those features.

As the leaked documentation and screenshots had suggested previously, Android 12 gets a major design overhaul in terms of the user interface with the new Material NEXT design. Google is taking a more focussed approach towards human communications and prioritizing them over push notifications from apps. There are many more changes that improve privacy and performance, and we will be discussing those in this article.

Here are the prominent Android 12 changes that have caught our attention instantly:

New Material NEXT design

Over the years, we have observed a pattern with Android updates wherein Google brings drastic changes to the user interface with one version and focuses on functional improvements and under-the-hood changes with the next. This year appears to be dedicated to UI changes as Google brings a host of meaningful visual upgrades.

Here is everything we have spotted in this limited time using the Android 12 Developer Preview:

New Accent Color

Since Android 5 Lollipop, the stock Android interface has predominantly had a white background through the UI. With Android 10, Google added a Dark Theme and developer options to change the accent colors. Although it was spotted before the Android 10 stable release, Google decided to wait until Android 11 to bring the accent colors picker to the front as a full-fledged feature until Android 11.

With Android 12, the UI takes up a bluish tint visible in both light and dark themes. Unlike the leaked Android 12 screenshots that suggested that the UI might adapt to the background with the help of custom colors, we don’t see any option upfront to change this color. We will be exploring the Developer options to see if we can find something similar.

The light blue accent follows through the System UI within system apps, including Settings. The dialog boxes that show are also in this color.

Notifications and Quick Settings

With Android 11, Google slightly tweaked the notifications panel by adding spaces between conversations, app notifications, and silent notifications. That continues with Android 12, but instead of a completely transparent space separating the different categories, we see a translucent background with a lighter overlay in the background.

The inactive Quick Settings tiles now show a light blue color instead of gray, but there’s no visible change in the icons. The Quick Settings tiles’ default order has changed, and Android 12 brings the DND and Battery Saver toggles to the first card while pushing the mobile data toggle to the second card, and the location toggle out of the default Quick Settings.

Interestingly, Android 12 brings a “Reduce Bight Colors” option, and Quick Settings toggle that we also reported earlier. This is an accessibility feature that reduces the screen brightness in addition to the standard brightness control. You can also swipe up from the navigation bar at the bottom with two fingers for quicker access.

One-Handed Mode

With phone sizes getting out of hand, Google has brought a solution that Samsung implemented with One UI — and OnePlus adopted with OxygenOS 11. The Android 12 interface appears ready for easier one-handed usage. With large empty spaces towards the top of the display, you can access most of the options while using your phone with a thumb.

Google has also added a Feature Flag for “Silky Home” that pushes the items on a page further down to make them more easily accessible. The above screenshot should give you an idea about the feature.

We are constantly updating this article, so don’t forget to hit refresh before closing the tab!

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YouTube TV launches bundle that includes HBO Max, Showtime, and Starz

We’re all watching more content than ever thanks to the never-ending pandemic. If we’re not binging Ted Lasso on Apple TV Plus, we’re uncovering the mysteries of WandaVision on Disney Plus. Want even more content? YouTube TV has you covered with a new “Entertainment Plus” bundle.

YouTube TV’s Entertainment Plus bundle brings together HBO Max, Showtime, and Starz for just $30 a month (via 9to5Google). If you were to subscribe to these premium channels individually, you’d spend $35 a month; HBO Max is $15 a month, Showtime is $11 a month, and Starz is $9 a month. That’s not huge savings, but over an entire year it comes out to $60, which you can use to buy a new video game.

Let’s be honest: YouTube TV subscribers could use some good news right now. The service last year raised its price to $65 a month — up from $35 a month when it launched in select cities in 2017. Every year since its launch the service has become more expensive. To be fair, it has also added new channels thanks to a distribution agreement with ViacomCBS, which includes channels like BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and more.

The inclusion of HBO Max in YouTube TV’s new entertainment bundle is probably what most customers will care about. The streaming service is one of the strongest on the market, offering shows like Friends and home to movies like Zack Snyder’s Justice League (launching March 18) and HBO’s extensive lineup of content. The service will also be home to the entire lineup of Warner Bros.’ 2021 theatrical lineup, which is launching in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time.

YouTube TV’s new entertainment bundle is available beginning today. To subscribe, go to YouTube TV Settings > Membership. If you subscribe to any of these channels individually, you must go to the settings to upgrade your subscription before purchasing Entertainment Plus.

YouTube TV - Watch & Record Live TV (Free, Google Play) →

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Android 12 brings UI optimizations for easier one-handed use

Google just started rolling out the first Android 12 developer preview, and it includes a couple of UI changes that make the OS easier to use one-handed. These changes are not to be confused with the one-handed mode we talked about earlier this week, as they only bring some of the UI elements closer to the bottom of the display instead of shrinking the entire screen.

As you can see in the attached screenshots, the updated settings UI in the Android 12 developer preview features a new shorter Search bar that has been moved down closer to the bottom of the display for easier one-handed access. Although this may not seem like much, it’s still better than the older settings UI with the Search bar at the top of the page.

If you aren’t impressed by this subtle change, then you’d be glad to know that the Android 12 developer preview includes another neat trick up its sleeve. The release features a new feature flag called “silky home”, enabling which makes the UI even more one-handed friendly. Here are a couple of screenshots showcasing what the settings look like with the feature flag enabled:

Android 12 settings with the silky home feature flag enabled

Although this new UI looks a bit of a One UI knockoff, it’s still great to see Google introducing changes to make Android easier to use one-handed. With phones getting larger by the day, subtle changes like this are a welcome addition, and they can go a long way in making stock Android more pleasant to use. However, if you’re not satisfied with this implementation, it’s worth noting that Google has been developing a separate one-handed mode feature for inclusion into AOSP and, based on what we know about it so far, it may make one-handed use even easier.

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The first Android 12 preview for Android TVs brings an all-new Google TV experience

Google just released the first Android 12 developer preview, and it gives us a good look at some of the major improvements coming in this year’s big Android upgrade. It includes several changes that aim to make Android more intuitive and secure while also improving overall performance. Along with that, Google is also rolling out the first Android 12 preview for Android TVs, which brings all the latest Android features to TVs and an all-new Google TV experience.

Although Google typically releases the first Android TV preview a few months after the first Android developer preview rolls out, this year, the company is rolling it out at the same time. This is a great move, as it will give developers more time to optimize their Android TV apps for Android 12, and it may also play a significant role in speeding up its adoption.

Google currently hasn’t shared any details on what’s exactly new on Android 12 for Android TVs, but since it’s already available for developers, we expect to learn more in the coming days. In case you’re a developer, you can follow this link to download the system images for the ADT-3 Developer Kit to get started. The preview is only available for the ADT-3 Developer Kit at the moment, so if you don’t have one lying around, you can get your own by following this link. You can share your feedback and any issues in the Issue Tracker here.

It’s worth noting that the all-new Google TV experience mentioned above is likely the same new UI that debuted with the Google Chromecast with Google TV last year. It’s expected to make its way to several other devices later this year, including TCL’s 2021 TV lineup that was announced earlier this year. Click on this link to learn more about the new Google TV interface.

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Android 12 finally adds scrolling screenshots natively

Scrolling screenshots have long been a landmark feature of Android. Or, at least, of most OEM skins. It may seem like a strange omission and you might not even know this if you haven’t used a Pixel smartphone or a stock Android phone as of recently, but while scrolling screenshots are a standard feature of skins like MIUI, OxygenOS, One UI, ColorOS, and many more Android skins, it’s notably absent as a native feature, and it’s thus omitted on stock Android. But this article is not meant to keep you scratching your head thinking about why that is. This article is to tell you that, with Android 12, Android is finally getting scrolling screenshots natively!

Scrolling screenshots are still a bit janky/broken, but it actually works! (It's not enabled by default so you won't see it when you update.) pic.twitter.com/7ih2zQgvZk

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) February 18, 2021

This change was found by our very own Mishaal Rahman, and if you’re an early adopter trying to look for the feature and you haven’t been able to spot it, we don’t blame you. Right now it’s a hidden feature and after using it, we can immediately see why that is: it’s very rough around the edges right now. Of course, we’re on the very first developer preview, so as you might expect, it’s going to take a while before it’s refined and actually works properly.

Having the feature implemented natively into Android, even if it’s not particularly a new idea, is still huge news. Not only will Pixel users be able to finally take advantage of taking scrolling screenshots (which allow you to capture more information into one screenshot without having to take several of them), but those few OEM skins that don’t have this feature will be getting it as well, so widespread adoption of this feature will be in order after the new version of Android is officially out in the wild. The final version of Android 12 should be ready in Q3 2021, but you can grab it right now if you have a supported device. We don’t really recommend installing this in its current state as your daily driver, though.

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