Just over two weeks after Android 12 hit open source, Google this morning rolled out the stable version of Android 12 to existing Pixel owners. That event would normally mark the end of a release’s Android Beta Program, but Google is continuing it this year.
In announcing the availability of Android 12, Google first thanked the Beta community for “collectively reporting over 50,000 issues to help improve the quality of the release.”
The big development, however, is that the Android 12 Beta Program is continuing. If your device remains enrolled on google.com/android/beta, “you will automatically get the next Android 12 beta updates starting in December.” Google only vaguely alludes to what the next release entails:
You now have the opportunity to continue in the beta program on your Pixel device(s) and receive ongoing Android 12 pre-release updates including feature drops, bug fixes, and improvements to stability and performance…
Google looked to be planning something similar last year with the Android 11 Beta, but did not proceed.
In recent weeks, we’ve seen signs that Google is working on a 12.x mid-cycle release we’ve been informally referring to as “Android 12.1” that seems to be focused on foldables. Testing of that release could start at the end of this year. Meanwhile, Google is hosting an Android Dev Summit on October 27-28 that will hopefully explain what’s coming next.
Meanwhile, Google today gave users guidance about leaving the program, since it’s not automatically ending:
Important: If you prefer to leave the beta program for Pixel and return to the public stable track of Android 12, you have a window of opportunity to unenroll without wiping your device. Please update and install today’s official release and then unenroll by December 1st before the next beta update releases. This will ensure your device will not get wiped during opt-out.
More about Android 12:
- Gmail, YouTube Music, and Google Drive getting new Android 12 Material You widgets
- How to install Android 12 on your Google Pixel smartphone
- Android 12 with October security patch live, download Pixel factory images & OTAs
Author: Abner Li
Source: 9TO5Google
