Google brings Android 12L and Feature Drop to Pixel phones

Google has released the Android 12L update for its Pixel smartphones. The update is for foldable devices and tablets. Samsung, Lenovo and Microsoft will release devices with Android 12L later this year. The Pixel phones will also receive an update with new functions.

Android 12L is an update to Android 12 that comes first for the Pixel smartphones, but will come to more devices later. The update brings improvements to foldable smartphones and devices with large screens. For example, notifications and the quick settings get their own column, next to each other, so that users can quickly swipe away notifications. The settings are also shown in two columns, one with preview.

In addition, there is a toolbar for quickly switching between apps and Android 12L allows users to view two apps side by side in a split-screen view. Tablets and foldables with Android 12L will appear later this year and Samsung, Lenovo and Microsoft, among others, have plans to provide devices with the version. Android 13 and later versions will also include features for devices with large screens, Google promises.

At the same time, Google announced a new Feature Drop for the Pixel devices. Google is extending the Live Caption feature to conversations with this. “When you’re on a phone call, you can see the transcript of what the other person says, and type in a response, which will be read at the other end,” Google explains. Snapchat also gets support for Night Sight, a new widget for the battery status of connected devices and conversations in Spanish, Italian and French can be directly translated via Live Translate’s Interpreter.

Both Android 12L and the Feature Drop will appear for supported Pixel devices. The Pixel 3 is no longer part of that and the Pixel 6 has to wait a while for the updates.