Android 12 – Snow Cone Desert Name new Features
Following the Android 12 user interface and system wallpapers, recently XDA developer found more details about the next generation of Android version Android 12. As expected, this year’s version will be named Android 12 as Google abandoned its Android dessert naming scheme two years ago.
Even though Android 12 won’t officially announce a dessert name, that doesn’t mean Google is completely abandoning its tradition of naming Android operating systems “desserts”. According to XDA Developers, last year’s Android 11 (R) was internally called “Red Velvet Cake” and this year’s Android 12 (S) should be called “Snow Cone”.
Besides the redesigned user interface, Google is developing one of the most intriguing features the “One-handed Mode” that Google is working on and is preparing to add to AOSP, the open-source version of Android. The XDA site says it only confirms that Google is developing this so-called “one-handed mode”, but the exact implementation is unknown. Most developers think it’s like many phone makers, where the entire screen is reduced in equal proportion into a small square.
XDA says Google is planning to scale up to 40 percent of the screen in Android 12, and that Google will provide a way for users to trigger one-handed mode using the traditional three-button mode “Menu + Home + Back” as well as the newer gesture navigation mode.
As things stand now, Google is set to add one-handed mode to Settings > System > Gestures > One-handed “, which requires the user to use a specific gesture to trigger it (e.g. swipe left / right on the navigation bar). Since it is AOSP code, Google had to take into account the logic of most manufacturers and three-party apps, which will affect the entire Android ecosystem and is extremely demanding.
Also, XDA confirms that Google has finally will introduce the long screenshot feature in Android 12, which is welcome. In other aspects, XDA developers found that Google is improving Android’s multitasking features, such as picture-in-picture mode (two-finger zoom, double-tap to maximize, PiP hide, support for moving off-screen, etc.), new “Social App” bubble animation, and the introduction of dual-app split-screen for Surface Duo and Samsung Galaxy Fold series.
XDA expects the first Android 12 Developer Preview to arrive later this month, so we’ll likely see more of the new Android 12 features in action by then.
