Android 12 release date: Developer Preview speculated to launch this week; Picture-in-Picture gets new ‘stashing’ feature

As smartphone screens get bigger over the years, developers have also found ways for users to multitask, and picture-in-picture (PiP) mode has been one of the important functions introduced. Reports now have it that Google is looking to improve it further with the Android 12 update.

Android 12 new features: How Google is improving PiP

The PiP feature received some enhancements when Android 11 went live last year. People were finally able to resize its windows, but some users still report issues when using this feature. As for Android 12, Google is reportedly planning to improve this and introduce new options when using through PiP.

XDA Developers reported that Android 12 could make resizing PiP windows easier. Google is expected to add more gestures, including pinching and double-tapping the screen, to reach its maximum size or revert to the original size. The update will include a crossfade animation to make the changes appear more seamless, per the same source.

Smartphone users could also make the PiP window consume lesser screen space when needed through an Android 12 feature called “stashing.” As the name suggests, it would allow some part of the PiP window to be “hidden” temporarily by pushing it to the edge of the screen or by flinging it to the other side of the display. The media content will continue to play, and it could be un-stashed by tapping on the PiP window.

Android 12 release date and beta: What to expect

Android users might be able to see a demonstration of how these new PiP features work soon. The same publication predicts that the first Android 12 Developer Preview build could be released as soon as Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Officially, Google has not made any announcement yet nor revealed its Android 12 beta and release timeline. But that information appears to be based on the first developer beta release of Android 11, which happened on Feb. 19 last year.

Regardless of when the first Android 12 Developer Preview is launched, note that it will not be available to the general public. However, the public beta for compatible devices should follow a few months later. Last year, Android 11 Developer Preview received three monthly updates before the first public beta became available. Both in 2019 and 2020, Google released the first full version of Android updates in early September.

Featured photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash