What you need to know
- Google has released the first update for Android 12 Developer Preview 1.
- Version 1.1 brings several bug fixes to address crashes, reboots, and battery drain.
- As usual, a word of caution to those interested in flashing the developer preview to their phones, as the software is largely unfinished.
The first Android 12 Developer Preview was released a few weeks ago, giving developers and enthusiasts an idea of what to expect for the next major version of the OS. Of course, because it's still a work-in-progress, it can turn even the most basic of tasks a bit of a chore due to random reboots, crashes, and more. Fortunately, those who have Android 12 flashed to their devices are being treated to the first update, which should address some of those problems.
This new update for the developer preview brings it to version 1.1 and Google's release notes highlight nine fixes that are present in the update, each of which are listed below.
- Fixed an issue where on some devices, the device intermittently disconnected from Wi-Fi even when the Wi-Fi signal was strong.
- Fixed an issue where on some devices, the device displayed a "System UI keeps stopping" message if the user tried to take a screenshot by pressing Power + Volume Down from the Lock screen.
- Fixed an issue with partial wake locks that could cause excessive battery drain.
- Fixed an issue where a device's fingerprint reader could become unresponsive when the device was suspended, requiring the user to unlock their device using another method.
- Fixed an issue where the Settings app could crash if the user tried to access app notification settings.
- Fixed an issue where the system UI could freeze after the user updated the device.
- Fixed an issue where the CellBroadcastReceiver app could not obtain the
android.permission.BROADCAST_CLOSE_SYSTEM_DIALOGSpermission, causing emergency alerts to crash. - Fixed an issue that could cause some devices to reboot intermittently.
- Fixed an issue that could cause some devices to reboot after the user unlocked the device using their PIN.
The update also comes with the March security update which was recently rolled out for Pixel phones with bug fixes of its own. It should be noted that since this is just a developer preview and not a beta, it's still very much a work-in-progress and can be quite unstable. That said, if you have a Google Pixel 5, you might get better results as it appears "nearly flawless" according to Hayato Huseman.
For anyone who's not a developer or brave enough to flash the developer preview on to their Pixel device, Google's timeline for Android 12 puts a more stable beta release during some time in mid-April, so it won't be much longer before some of the best Android phones get a chance to experience Android 12.
Head to settings and hit "Check for update" to get the latest OTA version of the developer preview, which clocks in at roughly 5MB.
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