Soon Google should roll out a stable build of Android 12, and yesterday it released the last fifth beta version of the new iteration of the operating system. Logically, the company should take a course on the creation of Android 13, which will debut exactly one year later. But online sources say there may be another stop on the road from Android 12 to Android 13.
Google may release Android 12.1 before the next major version
Interestingly, Google has given up on releasing intermediate versions of the green robot a long time ago. The last such update was the release of Android 8.1 Oreo, and after that the company stopped the practice of releasing such updates. It is not very clear why Google will need to release Android 12.1 and what ideas it decided to implement, worth rolling out an intermediate version. This will be the first time since 2017 that Google will release a second, interim update for a specific version of Android.
Interestingly, there is an assumption that the company will not delay the release of Android 12.1. The new version of the green robot may debut at the same time as the Google Pixel 6. The company may have decided to give its flagships some special feature that will not be available for other devices. Is that why you need Android 12.1?
But these are all just assumptions and guesses, which are based on the fact that the company changed the numbering of the API level. So, Android 12 got API level 31, while Android 13 got it 33. It could be assumed that it was decided to skip API level 32, but no, it will be released and “sc-v2” will be added to its name. In this case, “sc” is an abbreviation for the Android 12 dessert internal name “Snow Cone”, and “v2” implies that Snow Cone will receive “version 2”.
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Android 12
Google has released the fifth and final public beta of Android 12 for supported Pixel devices. This version carries the status of a release candidate – it is also the first beta version that can be installed on the recently released Pixel 5a.
If you have this smartphone and want to run the fifth beta version of Android 12 on it, you just need to register it in the Android Beta program. Once you do, you will receive the Android 12 Beta 5 update over the air.
If you’ve already participated in the beta, you should have an over-the-air update available. If you haven’t received the notification yet, go to Settings> System> System Update and check manually. You may have to double-click the Check for Updates button, but you should get it.
The build number is SPB5.210812.002 and the size of the update depends on which device you are using. With the release of Beta 4 last month, Android 12 has already reached a near stable state. The fifth beta version contains “the latest fixes and optimizations”.
The official release of the final version of Android 12, according to Google, will take place “in just a few weeks.”
