Android 12

[Ham]

rocks.


I wasn't expecting such an incremental leap, but 12 has surprised me, I'm now looking forward to the Pixel Pro on order (with Bose headphones freebie). Looks to me like Google have put quite some effort into making up the ground they have lost to Apple and Samsung. Things immediately noticeable include improved clarity, quick configuration changes and setup.

[jiberjaber]

Update came through last night and I've not noticed too much difference other than some UI changes (Pixel 4) but I have always preferred the native Google experience over teh Samsung one (for example) - I really miss some of the gestures on native Google when I use my Samsung devices.

New work phone will by IOS which I am not looking forward to.

[Kim]

I quite like the Samsung calendar app on my ageing fondleslab.  But not enough to buy another Samsung device for.

[Ham]

Update came through last night and I've not noticed too much difference other than some UI changes (Pixel 4) but I have always preferred the native Google experience over teh Samsung one (for example) - I really miss some of the gestures on native Google when I use my Samsung devices.

New work phone will by IOS which I am not looking forward to.

It's all around the UI - the pull down setting tiles and edit feature is something that appeals to me - I've now got my fave settings right at the top (DND, Auto rotate, Torch, Bluetooth). Home thermostat control is there now, too. Lens is added to the front screen.  I have Pixel 4 as well, which annoys me through lack of fingerprint reader, hence the move to 6 Pro, throwing in trade in and the Bose headphones

[jiberjaber]

Update came through last night and I've not noticed too much difference other than some UI changes (Pixel 4) but I have always preferred the native Google experience over teh Samsung one (for example) - I really miss some of the gestures on native Google when I use my Samsung devices.

New work phone will by IOS which I am not looking forward to.

It's all around the UI - the pull down setting tiles and edit feature is something that appeals to me - I've now got my fave settings right at the top (DND, Auto rotate, Torch, Bluetooth). Home thermostat control is there now, too. Lens is added to the front screen.  I have Pixel 4 as well, which annoys me through lack of fingerprint reader, hence the move to 6 Pro, throwing in trade in and the Bose headphones

Yes I missed the fingerprint reader at first too, but happy with it now.

[Andy64]

I've been on the beta version for the last few months (Pixel 4) so 12 isn't that new to me, and I take a lot of the newer features for granted.
One that does stand out for me, in last months update,  is the face tracking from the front camera, to stop auto rotate if you're lying on your side looking at the phone.

[Ham]

Now that's smart, and one I might not have found for and because auto-rotate is one of my top 4 settings.

In other news, I have a slight awkwardness.

I got this upgrade past customs off the back of upgrading the customs officer to a Pixel 6, after all she's had my cast offs for years (currently Pixel 2). And, mostly because I decided it is time for us to move to 5G (yes there are practical applications for us), getting myself a 6 Pro seemed entirely reasonable. Unfortunately? Fortunately? The 6 Pro has now shipped, but the 6, not only is there no news on shipping but rumours abound that demand has exceeded expectations and shipping may be not until Jan. Hmmmm.

[Sergeant Pluck]

One that does stand out for me, in last months update,  is the face tracking from the front camera, to stop auto rotate if you're lying on your side looking at the phone.

Now that is useful. Such an obvious thing now that it’s been done.

I suppose it’ll take the usual several months before it reaches my Samsung.

[Hot Flatus]

Yes, about Christmas, Samsung say. They are beta testing it now.

[drossall]

My Galaxy Tablet S2 is stuck on Android 7. I've just had the first app warn me that that app will no longer support version 7. I'm thinking of rooting to upgrade, but I'm a long way from replacing sound hardware (I even Zwift on it) just because I'm behind by nearly half the entire version history of Android

[Kim]

My Galaxy Tablet S2 is stuck on Android 7. I've just had the first app warn me that that app will no longer support version 7. I'm thinking of rooting to upgrade, but I'm a long way from replacing sound hardware (I even Zwift on it) just because I'm behind by nearly half the entire version history of Android

I have one of those.  It's the rarer one with the cellular modem, which absolutely nobody is interested in building an OS for, and I really can't be arsed to work out how to do it myself.

[drossall]

Mine's just a tablet. Haven't figured out what OS builds are available. The Galaxy Tab S2 models seemed fairly popular, so I'm hoping.

[Wombat]

rocks.


I wasn't expecting such an incremental leap, but 12 has surprised me, I'm now looking forward to the Pixel Pro on order (with Bose headphones freebie). Looks to me like Google have put quite some effort into making up the ground they have lost to Apple and Samsung. Things immediately noticeable include improved clarity, quick configuration changes and setup.

But have they reinstated the ability to have separate volume levels for ringtone, notifications, and media?  I cannot imagine why they removed that several versions ago.

[Ham]

I didn't know that (a) they had taken it away and (b) ring and notification were ever separate. Anyhow, it (still?) has separate: Media, Call, Ring & notification, Alarm. There are options to switch on tones for key pad, screen lock, charging, touch, and Live Caption is awesome.

One thing I have found which I really like is the privacy dashboard - shows what is using what and how often.

[Ham]

Some useful stuff on the update here
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3635490/google-pixel-android-12.html

[Lightning Phil]

rocks.


I wasn't expecting such an incremental leap, but 12 has surprised me, I'm now looking forward to the Pixel Pro on order (with Bose headphones freebie). Looks to me like Google have put quite some effort into making up the ground they have lost to Apple and Samsung. Things immediately noticeable include improved clarity, quick configuration changes and setup.

But have they reinstated the ability to have separate volume levels for ringtone, notifications, and media?  I cannot imagine why they removed that several versions ago.

They are separate in Android 11.

[Afasoas]

rocks.


I wasn't expecting such an incremental leap, but 12 has surprised me, I'm now looking forward to the Pixel Pro on order (with Bose headphones freebie). Looks to me like Google have put quite some effort into making up the ground they have lost to Apple and Samsung. Things immediately noticeable include improved clarity, quick configuration changes and setup.

But have they reinstated the ability to have separate volume levels for ringtone, notifications, and media?  I cannot imagine why they removed that several versions ago.

They are separate in Android 11.

Ditto. Well at least on the LineageOS Build of Android 11 I use.

But Android is different on every device that runs it as most phone slingers bake their own fork of it. The Samsung "Fisher Price" Android on my work phone annoys me. It's practically impossible to make notifications work in a timely fashion.

Android 12 builds for LineageOS have been available for my own phone for a while. I will get around to upgrading now that the dark winter evenings are here.

[Ham]

On the pixel implementation, ring and notification are not separate on 11, I can't recall them every bring separate, but they may have been as I can't think of what you might want to separate them, even. Call and notification are the way that the phone alerts you of a desired interaction, you can always control what interactions you want at a very granular level.

Two cute UI new features I really like:
When you reach the end of a scroll, the page stretches slightly giving you visual indication you're at the bottom.

Press the power button and the screen fades to or away from the button. No practical benefit I can see, but it's cool.

[Andy64]

Don't know if it's new to 12, but I just found this - Pixel 4

In the email app, you can scroll the email icon (top right) to move between email accounts if you have more than one synced. Previously, it was a tap and select from the drop down menu.

[andyoxon]

Anyone notice any battery life differences on Android 12?  My Pixel 4a seems to be chewing through relatively more battery than on Android 11.  No historic battery use to compare with though; just an impression.

[Ham]

I didn't on my 4, for the short time I was using it, if anything it appeared better. Might be worth having a poke around to see what's using the most battery?

[jiberjaber]

Anyone notice any battery life differences on Android 12?  My Pixel 4a seems to be chewing through relatively more battery than on Android 11.  No historic battery use to compare with though; just an impression.

My P4 seems to be chomping through the battery also.

The newer P6 seems to offer "all day battery" but it's twice the capacity then the P4 so there's potentially something in that!

[andyoxon]

If I could roll back to Android 11, I probably would.  Hopefully Android 12 & 3rdPs apps will get updates for better battery use. 

OOI Komoot app (12%) was twice as power hungry as Strava (6%), for the same time used (2hrs).   Run without 'battery optimisation', so they function in background.

edit.
Improved things by going through this list:  https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/6090612  Get the most life from your Pixel phone battery

[Wombat]

rocks.


I wasn't expecting such an incremental leap, but 12 has surprised me, I'm now looking forward to the Pixel Pro on order (with Bose headphones freebie). Looks to me like Google have put quite some effort into making up the ground they have lost to Apple and Samsung. Things immediately noticeable include improved clarity, quick configuration changes and setup.

But have they reinstated the ability to have separate volume levels for ringtone, notifications, and media?  I cannot imagine why they removed that several versions ago.

They are separate in Android 11.

Are you 100% sure of this, because I can see no evidence of that?  It is an absolute pain in the arse, I cannot imagine why they thought removing it was sensible.

[Polar Bear]

I am still on android 10 yet I have separate sliders to set media, ringtone, notification and system volumes.