What is Android 12L?
Android has been around for a long time, and so have tablets, but have never properly fit together. Android tablets would always have the same version of Android as phones, just stretched to fit an 8-inch or 10-inch screen. This has worked for the most part, but there are a lot of areas where that method fails to satisfy. Android 12L is a slightly altered version of Android 12 with some practical optimizations to help it work better with larger displays. This means that it will also benefit foldable phones.
How will Android 12L be different?
Even though this is technically a different version of Android 12, it still retains all of the visual trademarks. You will still get all of the large and bubbly buttons and the custom theme. One of the main changes coming to Android 12L is the revamped notification shade. In Android 12L, the notification shade will be divided into two columns. The left column will house the quick settings and the media controls. As for the right side, it will have all of your notifications. As for the multitasking view, the apps are arranged in a grid pattern rather than linearly. The most recent app that you were using will show up a lot larger than the other apps; it will take up the full screen. Your other apps will sit to the left in a grid formation. You’ll also be able to hop into split-screen mode straight from the multitasking view.
Android 12L will be available for the Pixel 3 phones, but there won’t be any changes
It’s a bit of an odd concept testing Android 12L on phones. Regardless, there are nine phones that will be able to get the upcoming beta, including the Pixel 6 phones. In the blog post, Google states that you won’t be able to see changes on smaller devices, so it would seem pointless to add phones to the mix. In the beta, your software should run just like Android 12 for phones. It’s actually nice that people can try out the beta on phone screens because of foldable phones. These software on these two phones need to work in both phone mode and tablet mode. Being able to work on both phones and tablets should help developers develop for both modes.
