Foldable devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3, left, and Z Flip 3 should benefit from Android 12L.
Lexy Savvides/CNETGoogle has been talking about improving the foldable and tablet experience with its Android 12L update since last October. On Monday, the company finally provided an update with more tangible details.
In a blog post, the search giant revealed a few of the changes users can look forward to, including a revamped notification shade and a new taskbar. The former will now have its own dedicated column for easier viewing and swiping away of notifications while a new taskbar will allow for more quickly multitasking between multiple apps.
Android 12L’s updated notification shade.
GoogleIn the post, Google gives an example of watching a YouTube video and searching for a hotel in Chrome while simultaneously looking at a location in Google Maps.
The Android maker reiterated that it is working on optimizations in other areas, too, including the home screen, lock screen and settings so that they look better on larger displays.
Despite the company’s Android developer page stating that a public release was “planned for early 2022,” Google has yet to provide an exact release date for the update. On Monday it said that the new software will be available “starting later this year” with a Google spokeswoman telling CNET that the update will come in the second half of 2022.
In the blog post, Google adds that Android 12L updates are coming to devices from Samsung, Lenovo and Microsoft and that it will “continue to build more features and functionalities to help you make the most of your larger screen devices in Android 13 and beyond.”
