The first Android 12 screenshots have seemingly leaked, giving us an initial look at Google’s next mobile operating system, and revealing a drastic redesign in the process.
The images, posted by Telegram user RKBD and corroborated by XDA Developers, showcase a sandy color scheme and a shift towards even softer and more rounded edges than iOS 14. Many of the UI tweaks are minor, such as the clock moving to the top-left corner, but there are some all-new additions to the widgets and privacy tools as well.
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These screenshots apparently came from a document Google shared with partners to inform them of what changes to expect from Android 12, so they don’t necessarily reflect the final product.
But the general visual difference from Android 11 is stark, with muted yellows and greens replacing the blacks, whites and greys of the default Android 11 color scheme. There are also fewer transparency effects, including on the notifications panel.
Meanwhile, the home screen appears to include the rumored new “Conversations” widget, which looks like it displays one of your most recent messages or missed calls.
The widgets have much more rounded corners than their Android 11 equivalents, a design change that’s also present on UI elements throughout — such as notifications and the Quick Settings tiles. On that note, the notifications panel now only shows four of these tiles instead of the six on Android 11.
One major addition is a section for privacy status icons that appears in the top-right of the screen. These icons show when an app is using or has recently used, one of the phone’s sensors: the camera or microphone, for instance. XDA reported that supporting this feature will be mandatory for Android phone manufacturers. So it could be useful for getting a clearer view of applications’ sensor use than the current permissions system provides.
Allegedly, you’ll also be able to completely disable the microphone or camera individually, via Android 12’s new privacy settings.
