Android 12 and an intermediate version with Material You and other novelties. In addition, the completely new Wear OS 3 and many features drop. Android can look back on a good year. Last year, the Android world finally seemed to have evolved.
This also includes the fact that Google has improved in some areas where it had not done anything for a long time. In addition to the takeover of Fitbit, there was also a merger with Samsung and their Tizen operating system for Wear OS, which is optimized for smartwatches. Certainly the surprise of the year.
Wear OS: Samsung and Fitbit on board
Samsung has given up its own Tizen for smartwatches and puts its own know-how into Wear OS. As a result, Samsung smartwatches of the Galaxy series are now again equipped with Wear OS. Including Google Play Store, Maps, etc. In the course of this, there was an exclusive deal for Samsung. The new Wear OS 3 has existed for about a year on the Galaxy Watch 4 alone and on no other smartwatch.
Fitbit should help Google in the field of smartwatches but still remain independent. Nevertheless, there is an internal agreement that Fitbit will also offer Wear OS watches in the future. So far, the company had only relied on its own software. So we not only have significantly more know-how for Wear OS than before but also a growing selection of smartwatches.
Android 12 including L version
With the new Android 12, Google has also done away with a few old construction sites. Along with the introduction of the new version in autumn, there was a huge update for the widget system. Google had almost forgotten it until Apple also offered widgets for iOS and made the whole thing even better. Now Google is doing something again for the widgets, including new widgets for their own Google apps.
Android 12 is generally considered to be the biggest update in years. This is at least true if you look at the optics. Material You is a completely new design language that now looks less like a computer, but much more personal and organic. Accent colors are also used on apps and widgets, which I personally like very much. But Android is also a bit faster, has done more for privacy and data protection and, and, and.
In the coming spring, there will also be an update with Android 12L that will bring many adjustments and improvements for larger screens. Also for tablets, but especially for Chromebooks and foldable. The implementation of Android for Chromebooks, in particular, seemed rather careless in previous years. And tablets were completely forgotten. For this purpose, Entertainment Space was surprisingly introduced in 2021.
Feature drops for pixels and Android in general
Last year, Google not only showed itself to be on the good side when it came to feature drops for its own Pixel smartphones. For Android in general, there was a big announcement with many new features every few months. Although these are less about new Android updates and more about improvements for individual app offers.
Manufacturers are committed to software updates
Last but not least, something has also changed in the area of update guarantees. Xiaomi is now starting to offer a guarantee for Android updates for its own smartphones. In the area of security updates, Google has extended its warranty to five years, and Samsung has also made improvements here and there. This is certainly not all entirely voluntary, because, for example, there is increasing pressure from politics. But we can be happy about what ultimately counts. I’m really up for Android and the year 2022.