Google I/O is an annual developer keynote where many breakthrough technologies are announced. This event is always met with some hype and often a few leaks that can give us an idea of what to expect. This is where developers will get a first look at the newest Android build, followed by a beta that can be downloaded to specific devices. This year, Google is showing us the new features in Android 12. While the focus on the newest Android update takes up the majority of the keynote, there are still many more Announcements to cover.
Don't miss these great Google I/O articles from the XDA News team (and check out our amazing recap here):
Google FINALLY Shows Pending App Installs on the Android home screen
Android 12 Beta 1 Hands-on: A RADICAL Redesign comes to Android
Android 12 Generates AMAZING Themes from your Wallpaper
It's About Time! Google Overhauls Widgets in Android 12
Get Android 12 Beta for Google Pixel and other Android devices - RIGHT NOW
Android 12’s privacy controls Have TONS of NEW FEATURES
Android 12Right before the event began, Google released the first beta build for Android 12. This is one of the most significant updates that Android has seen. If you own a compatible Pixel phone, you'll be able to experience the beta right away. The beta can be installed as an OTA update, but if you prefer to manually install it, you can download the update from the list below.
Google Pixels
DeviceOTAFactory ImageGoogle Pixel 3Download LinkDownload LinkGoogle Pixel 3 XLDownload LinkDownload LinkGoogle Pixel 3aDownload LinkDownload LinkGoogle Pixel 3a XLDownload LinkDownload LinkGoogle Pixel 4Download LinkDownload LinkGoogle Pixel 4 XLDownload LinkDownload LinkGoogle Pixel 4aDownload LinkDownload LinkGoogle Pixel 4a 5GDownload LinkDownload LinkGoogle Pixel 5Download LinkDownload Link
GSI Downloads
[The Android 12 Beta GSI download links and the installation guide can be found here.]
ArchitectureGSI Packagex86+GMSDownload LinkARM64+GMSDownload Linkx86_64Download LinkARM64Download Link
Once you are ready to install the Android 12 beta 1, you can use the Android Flash Tool. The web-based installer comes with a handy GUI-based wizard that greatly simplifies the flashing process. Instead of focusing on the changes that were introduced in Android 12 Beta 1, Google released a more detailed press release that talks about the changes that will be seen in the next version of the OS.
New Features
The new Color Extraction feature will pull colors from your current wallpaper and implement them throughout the system, as a new theme. It uses a clustering algorithm to determine which shades are dominant and which are less dominant. This design, along with the rest of the new “Material You” changes, are coming to Google Pixel phones first in the fall.
Then there’s dynamic lighting, a feature wherein your lockscreen expands from darkness based on where you press the power button or unlock the phone. One feature we also spotted is that, on the lock screen, there’s a new button for Quick Wallet Access (Google Pay cards). Furthermore, the Quick Settings space has redesigned to include Google Pay and Home controls.
Another strong focus is the new privacy features. First, a new privacy dashboard to see a timeline of apps using a particular permission has been added. Furthermore, this privacy dashboard also gives easy access to manage that permission. Next, there are now privacy indicators in the top right to see when an app is using the camera or microphone. New Quick Settings toggles to disable camera or microphone access have been added. Finally, all machine learning processing (for features like smart reply, Now Playing, etc.) happens on-device under a new Private Compute Core software partition.
Google has reworked the Widgets API to enhance the user experience across different platforms, Android skins, and launchers. We see a consistent spread of the Google Sans font, flat icons, and cohesive color palettes, all of which together give widgets a more modern look. Widgets in Android 12 get new dynamic controls allowing you to interact with checkboxes, radio buttons, and switches without entering an app. The widget picker will now also offer responsive previews for widgets of different sizes.
Material YouAndroid's look is getting a complete redesign. These new design standards are called Material You. The colors of your Android theme can now be generated by your wallpaper. Android will pull a color pallet based on your own custom wallpaper, and apply it to different aspects of your phone. This gives a consistent and new look to your device, every time you change your wallpaper. As per the keynote at Google I/O 2021, the colors will apply uniformly across elements such as the lockscreen, quick settings, notifications panel, and even the newly-added adaptive widgets.
"We mix color science with years of investment in the disciplines of interaction design and engineering to make it possible to tailor any app—not just Google’s—to the user’s unique Material palette in real time. Material You includes users as co-creators, delivering a mode for every mood." - Google
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Material You will arrive as part of Android 12, and Google says it will share more details in the coming weeks. The design shift is described as a “multiyear journey,” so much like the original rollouts of Material Design and Google’s Material Theme (also known as ‘Material Design 2.0’), it will likely be a while before all of Google’s apps are migrated to the new style.
WearOS NewsGoogle has put effort into bringing some big updates to Wear OS. This update comes as a collaboration between Google and Samsung, in an attempt to revamp the OS. This keynote was the first time we got to see many of these new features in action.
Google transitioned from Google Play Music to YouTube Music last year, and one of the several issues users faced due to this transition was the lack of a Wear OS app for Google’s new music streaming service. Google has now confirmed that it will release a YouTube Music app for Wear OS later this year. The app will come with features like smart downloads that will let users download music to their watches for offline listening while they’re on the go.
Furthermore, Google announced that it’s making it easier for developers to build new Wear OS apps and Tiles with a couple of new tools. These include a new Tiles API and a watch face design editor built by Samsung. Apps from developers like Strava, Adidas Running, Bitmoji, and more will also make their way to the platform later this year.
"New tools, like a Tiles API and a watch face design editor built by Samsung, make it a breeze to develop new experiences on wearables." - Google
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Smart CanvasOne of the first announcements of the event was a new service called Smart Canvas. This is a team collaboration service that integrates Google Meet and Docs. Think of it as a replacement for services like Slack or Asana. Google showed an example of a team tracking an advertising campaign from beginning to end. The process first starts like an idea board, which evolves as the project goes on. You can assign and track tasks for specific team members.
Google Meet is being integrated into Docs, as a part of Smart Canvas. Now when you're working on a document with the team, you can start a call from within your doc. This is an easy way to collaborate with your team while tackling one project. Features similar to this are being added that have the goal of unifying all of Google's different work/office tools.
Android Augmented Reality APIARCore for Android will be receiving some important upgrades, according to the I/O keynote. The company's augmented reality platform powers more than 850 million Android smartphones worldwide. ARCore relies on your phone’s existing hardware and sensors to collect data on depth, motion tracking, and light estimation to help developers build interactive AR experiences. This API is essential for developers to continue to create advanced AR apps for the Android platform.
Now Google introduces the raw Depth API, which builds upon the Depth API to provide more detailed representations of surrounding objects by generating raw depth maps with corresponding confidence images. While the Depth API focused on generating smoothed depth maps with depth estimates for all pixels, the Raw Depth API aims to capture more realistic depth maps with confidence images providing a per-pixel depth estimate.
Another area of improvement is the hit-test which now uses depth maps instead of planes to provide more hit-test results even on non-planar and low-texture floors. TeamViewer’s LifeAR app has utilized the depth hit-test to integrate AR capabilities into video calls.
Continue to follow XDA's coverage of the 2021 Google I/O and the first beta build of Android 12.
this is the first android version in a long time that looks so vastly different. i personally love it..
Pixel 3a is compatible with Materia You? OR It will work on new Pixel phones (Pixel 5 and newer) only?
Related
Hello everyone!
We have released pressureNET 2.1 and are excited to hear your feedback. The app is mostly only useful on devices with barometers, such as the Nexus 4, Nexus 10, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy SIII and Xoom, but all Android 3.0+ devices can run it. We've built a worldwide network of atmospheric pressure measurements and have collected more than 8 million so far. We hope to use the data in order to improve short-term, local weather prediction. If you check out our blog below, you can see a teaser of the incredible resolution we have for events like Hurricane Sandy.
The new update brings important bugfixes and a new UI along with the announcement that we're going to be releasing a fantastic tool within a few days that lets you view all of the data on the web.
You can download pressureNET from Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.cumulonimbus.barometernetwork
And see the source code for the app at https://github.com/JacobSheehy/pressureNET and for the server https://github.com/JacobSheehy/pressureNETServer
And if you're looking for more details, check out our blog entry at www.cumulonimbus.ca/pressurenet-2-1/
Thanks and have a nice day!
We have just released our first Data Visualization tool for pressureNET. This is also open source (github.com/JacobSheehy/pressureNETAnalysis) and it lets you view the data that we're collecting.
Until now, it was very difficult for our users to know what kind and what quality of data we were gathering. Now you can go to http://pndv.cumulonimbus.ca and view our archive over the last year. The page shows a couple of datepickers and a google map as controls: move the map around, change the dates and watch the graph load. You'll see a plot of all atmospheric pressure measurements we've collected during the timeframe you specified and within the latitude/longitude grid visible on your map selection.
We are working now with atmospheric scientists to make use of this data in the best way we can. Our primary goal is to improve the state of weather prediction for everyone, especially smartphone users .
Enjoy! And if you have feedback, please let me know. We are working every day (especially during the holidays, since this is all done in our free time) to build the best products we can. Thanks again for your time.
Another quick update for the XDA community: We were recently featured in Wired Magazine!
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/01/android-weather-prediction/
Description
Cover Shooter for Facebook (Facebook Cover Photo Shooter) is an innovative application that allows the users to instantly take cover and profile photos for their Facebook Timeline. Users will be able to see how their pictures look like in their Timeline while taking them!
Specifically made for the Facebook Timeline users this app enables them to have the cover photos and the profile pictures look as one image, making it much more effective and pleasing to the eye. One of the noticeable functions in the app is that users can instantly upload the pictures they take. And also an album is created with the application name in the social network, where the pictures are placed automatically once taking them.
v. 2.0.x features
1. Nice, simple, lightweight user interface using Android native elements.
2. Compatibility with new facebook timeline layout.
3. Higher quality photos
4. Ability to use front facing camera.
5. Huge range of supported devices, including last generation super smartphones with Full HD displays and super cameras such as Sony Xperia Z/ZL, HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4
6. Low-end devices with low resolution displays and/or low memory support
7. New core logic, for optimizing layout match on almost all devices
8. Color effects*
9. Flashlight Auto/On/Off*
10. New Facebook SDK with native app support**
11. Ability to mute shutter and focusing sound***
12. Continuous autofocus*
13. Focusing areas set to profile picture and cover picture (lower priority) rectangles*
14. Ability to use camera specific button if available*
15. Detailed instructions
* Depends on device and/or android version
** Native facebook app support if it's installed
*** This support is added in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean but not supported in some countries because of law restrictions.
App on Google Play (free) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=am.tir.facebookcs.activities
EN/RU translations are available.
Hi all. I am posting here first time (as developer). So here is my app. Take a look if interested. You can leave feedbacks, suggest changes.
Also I need translators.
This version is made during my vacation. Before that, versions 1.x were very laggy. I hope, that this version contains less errors.
I am actually just junior java developer in one of Armenian IT companies and Android development is just hobby. I have made English and Russian translations by myself, so they can be not very correct.
Detailed instructions on how to use included in application.
Hey there,
starting out as a little research project about new Google Material Design, I ended up rewriting and old little app of mine using as much of Material Design as possible on Android 4.1+ devices.
kcalCulate is an personal caloric need calculator, BMI calculator & weight diary.
You want to keep track of your weight, want to know, how many calories you should eat every day to reach your goals?
Calculate how many calories you should eat per day, depending on your body measurements, your fitness activites and your day to day business.
Keep track of your progress and check yourself developing over time.
kcalCulate comes with three different charts to show you your weight, kcal and BMI.
That beeing said, you can use it as your personal weight diary and stay motivated.
Additionally, kcalCulate calculates your BMI (Body Mass Index) and gives you a rating.
Select activites from a wide variaty of possibilitys. If you have a lot of them, you can use up to 4 different ones.
Specific goals can be gaining weight, losing weight or keep your weight.
Measurements can be entered either in metric units (cm/kg) or imperial units (inch/lbs).
(Please note, it's inch not [feet]'[inch])
kcalCulate includes advertising, placed at the bottom of a Scrollview, so you won't see if often, and another one below the progress charts.
kcalCulate also comes with In-App Billing (for supporting further development and getting rid of the ads). Them two are the reasons for the needed permissions.
Furthermore kcalCulate uses Google Analyticts, as the stock developer console statistics kind of suck!
Information about used libs and pictures can be found within the app
Some Pictures:
Enjoy it!
If you come across any bugs/errors/layout problems, please don' hesitate to inform me!
Changelog
1.01 - Fix for errors on devices running Android 5 Lollipop
1.02 - Changes on the logo
Uploaded Version 1.01 to Playstore. Will be there within the next few hours.
This one fixes an error with InApp-Billing on devices running Android 5 Lollipop, as the initial query already lead to a FC. Can somebody running on Lollipop please confirm the fix? I don't have a device running 5.0.
Version 1.02 is up on Playstore. Did some changes to the logo, namely: circular icon instead of just the plane piece of cake.
Concepts can be really fun and interesting at the same time. We’ve seen tons of third-party concept smartphones being posted all over the internet, like the ‘Sony Shadow’ concept smartphone we’ve covered recently. The designer envisioned this smartphone to sport two displays, one on top of the other, while the top one is actually a slide-out display. It’s certainly and interesting concept, and even though it will probably never become a reality (at least not soon), it’s quite interesting to check out such content. Well, we have yet another concept to share with you, though this time around we’ll talk about software, not hardware, read on.
Google had started rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat to Nexus devices quite recently, and the company won’t announce the next version of Android (8.0) until next year, they’ll probably talk about it during Google I/O 2016. Android 7.0 Nougat is the current-gen Android variant, and it’s pretty much brand new, but an India-based designer decided to take matters into his own hands and actually create a concept design of Android 8.0. If you take a look at the info-graphic image down below, you’ll get to see the design he envisioned.
Now, this design actually builds upon Google’s work thus far, and does not exactly step away from Android 7.0 Nougat all that much. The circle home on-screen home button is now replaced with the letter ‘G’, while the designer has also introduced a brand new, customizable lock screen. The designer has also changed the app drawer, you can now see your docked home screen icons when you fire up the app drawer (by swiping from right to left), and the notification shade has been somewhat redesigned as well. If you take a look at the status bar up top, you’ll notice that notifications are now centered, rather than being stacked on the left side.
In any case, this certainly is an interesting design, and as already mentioned, it really isn’t all that different than Android 7.0 Nougat, it keeps some design cues while it comes with a different approach for other design elements. The aforementioned YouTube video, which is embedded down below, will show you all the elements we’ve talked about in this article, so make sure to check it out.
For screenshots please check post 2
Video on Youtube
Link : HERE
Sources
HERE
Concept and Design By Vijay
ScreenShots
Check the attachments
Reserved For Future
Is this real concept or rumors ?
Deena Khanam said:
Is this real concept or rumors ?
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It is just concept so not sure it is true or false.
@421rahman look here for new concept
@Salman Al-Badgail Thanks mate
[APP][5.0+] One Piece Wallpapers. Application for all fans of anime/manga "One Piece"
I am huge One Piece fan. IRL I'm currently working as back-end Java developer. I decided to expand my skills and learn Android development. When I started, I already knew that my first application will be about One Piece, because I really wanted to somehow contribute to community of this amazing manga series. 2 days ago I finally published it. It is a "mobile wallpaper gallery" application. Functionality is same as in similar apps: scroll through thousands of wallpapers, find what you like, download/set as wallpaper/share with your friends/add to favorites. But that wasn't enough for me, so I created more advanced features.
1. Strongest part of this app - Categories. I spent a lot of time creating this system. This system makes it very easy to find wallpapers with specific character. Every character has its own category (currently not all characters are implemented). And inside that category there are only wallpapers that are related to chosen character. For example if you open "Monkey D. Luffy" category:
You will only see wallpapers with Luffy on them (solo or with other characters).
You can also also press "Solo" button inside category and then you will see wallpapers where Luffy is without any other characters.
In the future even more filtering features will be added. It will be possible to filter by more than 1 character. For example if you enter "Luffy+Sabo+Ace", you will see wallpapers with Luffy, Sabo and Ace on them (together, without any other characters).
2. Completely free. Has ads in it for small profit. No annoying 15-30 seconds long ads. You can manually watch them to support developer.
3. Fully One Piece related. No characters from other anime.
4. Currently there are already 1200+ wallpapers. All of them are stored on my server. This means that you don't need to update application to see new content.
5. All preview pictures (those that are not fullscreen) are compressed to 5-15% of original file size. It means that all preview pictures will load really fast and won't use much internet data.
To-do for near future:
More content. New wallpapers, new characters in category (Reiju/Caesar/Bepo are ready, but not yet in app).
More features. Advanced filtering, "Set as lock screen" feature, more navigation (sorting).
Design improvements?
Add some basic stuff that people can view without internet connection.
Support for VERY big/small screens.
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.clivelewis.onepiecegallery