Google has recently rolled out Beta 4.1 of Android 12 to address bugs found in Beta 4 and to finalize the platform APIs and app-facing behaviors. This year, Android OEMs returned to the Android beta program, but we only saw them rolling out unskinned, vanilla Android builds. The big majority of them didn’t ever release Android 12 beta releases. Now, however, we are inching closer to Google’s official Android 12 release. That should happen next month, and for that reason, companies are now intensifying their beta testing. Xiaomi is now resuming its Android 12 beta program, this time with MIUI 12 in tow. Today, the Mi 11 is getting the first Android 12-based beta with MIUI 12 running on top.
Xiaomi has now released MIUI 12 beta in China with Android 12 as the underlying software version. Worth noting that this is a closed beta build that only targets the Chinese variants of the Mi 11. For that reason, it will lack Google Play Services or pre-installed Google applications. Compared to the Android 11-based MIUI 12 / MIUI 12.5 builds, some features are incomplete or missing altogether in the A12 build. Moreover, the language options are Chinese and English only.
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The update packages are regular recovery flashable ZIP files. However, you’ll need an authorized Mi Account for Beta testers to sideload the update. Most advanced users will eventually find a way to flash this update through a custom recovery like TWRP.
More devices should get Android 12-based MIUI 12 beta in the coming days
For now, it’s unclear if other devices in the Mi 11 family will receive these Android 12-based builds. Worth noting, that the Android 12 Beta was made available to the Mi 11 Ultra, and the Mi 11i, Mi 11X Pro, and Redmi K40 Pro. For that reason, these devices are likely to receive this beta treatment in the coming days. For now, the exact big changes coming with Android 12 MIUI are unclear. Android 12 is all about new visuals, new widgets, and other neat features like long screenshots and one-handed mode.
Although the beta testing will go with MIUI 12.5 we believe that the big majority of Android 12-eligible smartphones will receive it through MIUI 13 update. The next big MIUI update should be announced in the end of the year with a rollout slated for 2021. Meanwhile, some smartphones will be getting a further step in the MIUI 12 version dubbed MIUI 12.5 Enhanced. In related news, Xiaomi has announced the rollout of MIUI 12.5 Enhanced for several smartphones in the global spectrum.
