When is Android 12L coming to your phone
Yesterday, Google surprised everyone during the Android Dev Summit as it announced Android 12L. This is the company’s first mid-cycle software release announcement in years, but isn’t exactly what you might expect. While Android 12L will be compatible with traditional “slab” phones like the Pixel 6, it’s been designed with a focus on foldable phones, tablets, and Chrome OS devices.
Google has already released the first developer preview, but the only way that you can currently test this out is if you were to download the software and use it with the Android Studio emulator. So when can we expect to see Android 12L start rolling out to devices? Thankfully, Google provided a timeline for when the latest version of Android will become available.
- Developer Preview: October
- Beta Releases: December, January, February
- Final Release:?
Unfortunately, Google didn’t share exactly when Android 12L will be finally released, instead leaving it open-ended. This is likely to account for any additional testing or snags in the development that may occur. Our best bet is that Android 12L comes in late February or early March, but we’ll have to wait and see how everything goes between now and the final beta release.
Currently, Google has stated that the following devices will be among the first to receive the Android 12L update via the beta release:
- Pixel 4 / 4 XL
- Pixel 4a / 4a 5G
- Pixel 5
- Pixel 5a
- Pixel 6 / 6 Pro
As for the foldable phones and larger devices that Android 12L will be arriving for, there are only two that were mentioned by Google: the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Lenovo P12 Pro. Considering that the P12 Pro has not even been formally announced yet, it’s interesting to see that Google spoil the surprise ahead of time, but we’ll have to wait until Lenovo formally announces the device to see what it’s capable of.