With the fifth and final beta now available to Pixel owners, Android 12 will be released in the “next few weeks” according to Google. Now, though, we might have some clearer insight into the exact Android 12 release date.
Obtained by the folks over at XDA, a document from Google reveals the dates when versions of Android will be added to AOSP (Android Open Source Project) and subsequently become the required version of Android for new devices. The document’s table has an admittedly confusing layout but offers quite a bit of important information.
In 2019 and 2020, Android 10 and Android 11 were released on September 3 and September 8 respectively. The document from Google points to the Android 12 release date being scheduled for October 4, 2021, which is the day Google would release the platform to AOSP. Google generally launches new major Android versions on the first Monday of the month, in line with security patches for Pixel smartphones. Given that’s exactly what October 4 is, it lines up perfectly.
That’s later than most releases, but that’s certainly excusable given the size of Android 12’s update. As with past years, it’s expected that Pixel phones will get an OTA update to Android 12 alongside Google publishing the version to AOSP.
Android 12 brings with it the most major visual redesign to the platform in several years. Most notable is “Material You,” a new design language that includes “Dynamic Color” elements that can customize portions of the operating system to match colors extracted from your wallpaper or a chosen accent color.
More on Android 12:
- Android 12 Beta 5 hands-on: Top new features [Video]
- Samsung’s Android 12 beta was supposed to come out last week but has been delayed
- Android 12 Beta 5: Material You clock widgets have arrived [Gallery]
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