Lilbits: Android 12 Developer Preview 2 brings new goodies

Just under a month after releasing the first Android 12 Developer Preview, Google is back for round two. According to Google’s release announcement, new features include the ability to resize and manage picture-in-picture windows and new tools for developers to ensure their apps play on phones with displays featuring rounded corners.

But Android bloggers have been digging into the latest developer preview to find all the changes Google didn’t highlight, and there are a lot of them. This is the first build with an official one-handed mode. There’s a new widget picker. The dark theme has been updated. And it looks like you might be able to tie automatic screen rotation to face detection, so if you lie down while your phone is in portrait mode, it’ll stay in portrait mode even if you shift your grip as long as the phone is still in the same relative position to your face.

Here’s a roundup of tech news from around the web.

• Android 12 Developer Preview 2 [Android Developers Blog]
  Google releases Android 12 Developer Preview 2, with an API for apps to fit better on screens with rounded corners, picture-in-picture improvements, improved support for pairing with fitness trackers, and more. Available now for Pixel 3 and later.
• What’s New in Android 12 DP2: The Fun Stuff! [Droid-Life]
  Not mentioned in Google’s release announcement, Android 12 DP2 also has an updated dark theme, a new widget picker, and more.
• Android 12 DP2: One-handed mode is live and appears to be fully working [9to5Google]
  That includes Android 12 DP2 adds support for a one-handed mode: swipe down on the bottom of the screen and the UI will bring the top of the screen down toward the bottom allowing you to tap or swipe without shifting your grip…
• Android 12 DP2 has added face-based autorotation [@MishaalRahman]
  … and support for face-based auto-rotation, although it’s currently hidden by a flag, which means you have to go out of your way to enable the feature and it’s unclear if it’ll be ready for the public by the time Android 12 goes stable this fall.
• @MishaalRahman finds more Android 12 DP2 goodies [@MishaalRahman]
  The editor-in-chief of xda-developers.com has been poking and prodding the latest drop from Google to see what hidden goodies it holds.
• Samsung Mini-Roadmap Tips Several Upcoming Devices [@evleaks]
  Leaked Samsung roadmap points to Galaxy Tab S7 Lite launching in June, Galaxy A22 and A22 5G phones in July, and Galaxy S21 FE in August. According to @evleaks , next-gen Chromebooks and Galaxy Books could launch in April.

First change I’ve spotted: A new widget picker in the Pixel Launcher. pic.twitter.com/X0BpZPH4pN

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) March 17, 2021

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