Google’s Android 12 software brought big changes to the look and feel of Google’s operating system for smartphones and tablets including flagships like the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. But Android isn’t just for flagship devices, and now Google is outlining some of the new features coming to budget phones running Android 12 (Go edition) software in 2022.
The company is promising speedier app launch times, smoother animations, and longer battery life, among other things.
Google says apps running Android 12 (Go edition) will be able to launch apps up to 30% faster than the same device running Android 11 (Go edition), while smoother animations and a new SplashScreen API available to developers means that even when you are waiting for an app to load, at least you’ll have something to look at.
Android 12 (Go edition) also automatically hibernates apps that haven’t been used for a while, helping extend battery life by preventing those apps from demanding system resources unnecessarily.
Other changes include support for sharing apps with other users via a direct connection to save data using Android’s Nearby Share feature. You can also share your device with other users quickly thanks to support for switching profiles from the lock screen so you can move between your primary profile and a guest profile. And when you visit the recent apps screen, there will be options to listen to the news and translate on-screen content into your language.
The Privacy Dashboard that debuted with Android 12 for the Pixel 6 is also included in Android 12 (Go edition), giving you a single place to see which apps are accessing sensitive data like your device location or accessing the mic or camera hardware. And you’ll see privacy indicators in the status bar when the mic or camera are active.
Android 12 (Go edition) should roll out to supported devices as an over-the-air updates, and Google says it will also ship on some new devices in 2022.
You can find more details in Google’s blog post announcing the new release.