Android 12L Beta 2 now available for eligible devices

2022-01-13

On Wednesday afternoon, Google pushed the Beta 2 built of Android 12 L to eligible devices. Both system images and OTAs are available from Google’s site for Pixel 3a (XL) and all newer Pixels. All except the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro – which have already been dealing with update delays for the December patch and could be liked to a delay here.

Android 12L Beta 2 brings bug fixes and optimizations, as well as a few fixes for refinement of the resizing of icons relative to the screen size. It also finalizes APIs and system behaviors for this version of Android so that developers can begin focusing on finalizing their apps with compatibility of the new Android build. For reference, that’s API level 32.

Android 12L is a mid-cycle Android build meant to optimize Android’s usability across different form factors and display sizes amidst the industry shift towards foldable devices and the increase in adoption of tablets, ChromeOS, and 2-in-1 devices for productivity.

Google has also faced criticism for how it’s handled the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro December update, which may be linked to why there’s no Beta 2 built for the Pixels yet. We speculate it may be due to some tinkering needed to be done with the Google Tensor chip, which hasn’t been used on a smartphone before.

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