these are all new features

The third beta version of Android 12 has just been launched and comes with several improvements and new features. We have listed them for you, and you will find an overview here.

Android 12 Third Beta

The third beta of Android 12 is a fact and below you will find the most important improvements and new functions in a row. Number 3 in particular will amaze you.

1. Material You style wallpaper picker

According to Google, all Android versions from Android 12 should revolve around the user, which is why the company has already introduced the completely new design called Material You. Material You introduced. In this third beta version, it is immediately noticeable that Material You is almost complete.

For example, the wallpaper picker is gradually being renamed in the new Material You style. We see that the user interface is more rounded and therefore fits better with other components. In this article you can read what you can expect from Material You.

2. Material You with theme engine

The long-awaited theme engine can finally be found in the wallpaper picker. This way you can give your own color style to the operating system on the basis of a chosen wallpaper. The clock, widgets and quick settings, among other things, will adopt those colors. You can also completely ignore the wallpaper-based colors and choose from a collection of base colors.

We also see a new ‘Theme Icons’ option here that makes app icons automatically take over the chosen accent colors from the background. At least, if the developers provide support for this. Third-party apps don’t seem to be supported at this point, but thankfully most of Google’s popular apps already do.

3. Long screenshots

We had already expected the function in Android 11, and only came across the first rumors here, and now it can finally be found in Android: the ‘scrolling screenshots’ or long screenshots. What other manufacturers already have, is only now coming to Android. This feature merges screenshots into one long image. Taking these long screenshots comes in handy if you want to capture a WhatsApp conversation or a web page, for example. Google is working on a handy interface that will allow you to crop exactly the part you need on the screenshot. It works similar to the way to crop an image.

According to Google, the long screenshots only work in certain parts of the interface such as the settings. Google does say that the feature will be expanded in further beta versions.

4. Improved search function

Beta 3 gets support for AppSearch, a new powerful on-device search engine. AppSearch allows apps to index data in a way so that you can search it, but also other apps, if you have given permission to do so. Multiple languages ​​are supported, but Dutch will most likely not be the first.

5. Privacy Indicator Improvements

In the second beta, we saw the privacy indicators come and go. These show when the camera or microphone is active on your phone. You can then see in the quick settings which app uses it and you can withdraw that permission if necessary. In the third beta, these privacy indicators will receive support for apps in full screen mode (immersive mode).

In addition, companies can now also set restrictions on these privacy indicators.

6. Auto-rotate is faster

Google has further enhanced the auto-rotate screen feature with face detection. This uses the front camera to better see when the screen needs to be rotated. This is especially useful for people who use their devices while lying on a couch or in bed, for example.

Google has also made screen rotation using machine learning algorithm 25% faster.

7.Android 12 for Games

At its Games Developer Summit, Google announced a Game Dashboard and Play as you Download. Both are in the third beta. The new Game Mode APIs allow developers to advise gamers based on their game performance, such as better battery life for a long ride or performance mode to get maximum framerates. These APIs will be linked to the upcoming Game Dashboard that will provide quick access to important utilities during gameplay. The Game Dashboard will be available on select devices later this year.

Meanwhile, with Play as you Download, you can start playing a game while it is still downloading from the Play Store. You can read exactly how that works here.

Android 12 timeline

Google almost always releases preview and beta versions of a new Android version. This is also the case this year and below you can see the dates they were released.

Install Android 12 Beta 3

The third beta version of Android 12 is now available for the latest Pixel phones, and in this article we’ll show you how to get started with the new features on your Pixel phone. If you already have the second Beta on your phone, you should just receive the second version as an Over The Air (OTA) update. This year there are also phones from other manufacturers that can already enjoy Android 12 and an overview of these phones can be found here.

What do you think of the Android 12 features that Google announced in the third beta? What new features would you most like to see in the stable version of Android 12? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of this article.

Learn more about Android 12

For more information about Android 12, you can always visit our dedicated Android 12 page. We update this page regularly with new rumours, news, videos, tips, availability and more so it’s useful to add the page to your favorites. This way you always have the latest Android 12 news at hand.

Also watch the extensive video with all the new features in Android 12 that editor Sebastien has posted on our Instagram account. You can watch the video below and here on Instagram.

Want to stay up to date with the latest Google I/O 2021 news? Then download our Android app and follow us on Telegram and Twitter. Also check our AW Community for an overview of the most popular AW members.