Google has just announced Android 12L, a version of the recently released Android 12 for tablets, foldables, and ChromeOS devices. If you’re curious, L stands for Large screens.
Android 12L will be available early next year with a developer preview out for emulator use and “soon” for the Lenovo Tab P12 Pro. A public beta will also be opened for Pixel devices but most of its features won’t be too visible on smaller screens so, we’re not sure how that will work.
According to Google, there are a quarter billion tablets, foldable, and ChromeOS devices running Android in total. However, in the past year alone, there are 100 million Android tablet activation – a 20% year-over-year growth. Because of this and the increasing rise of foldables and ChromeOS laptops, the need for a larger Android version makes a lot of sense.
As for the changes themselves, the UI has been designed for larger screens, including notifications, quick settings, lock screen, and home screen, to name a few. An example of this is in the notification panel that has been redesigned to a two-column layout instead of a single one on smartphones.
The larger Android version also has a new taskbar for better navigation and switching apps on the fly. Additionally, split-screen is easier by dragging and dropping an app from the taskbar. All apps are enabled to enter split-screen mode as well.
Google has also urged developers to update their apps to better adapt to the different screen sizes with three window size classes. These are Compact for smartphones, Medium for small tablets and foldables, and Expanded for landscape-mode tablets and computers/laptops.
The company also added a new API to make apps fold and hinge-aware. These can be used as natural UI separators by developers.
Google will introduce a system in the Play Store that will tell you if apps aren’t optimized for a large screen if you’re using a large-screen device. There will also be large screen-specific app ratings. These are coming into effect next year though.
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
