Google has released Android 12L for Microsoft Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2. The operating system is intended for devices with large displays. Interestingly, the update includes Windows 11 backgrounds, and Microsoft says the newly added desktop backgrounds “bring the vibrancy of Windows to Android.” Although intended for Microsoft’s Surface Duo devices, Android 12L can be extended to tablets and many other form factors.
Microsoft Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2 will get Android 12L
As the name suggests, Android 12L goes beyond Android 12. It is an improved version of the operating system for devices with large screens. Microsoft’s Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2 are the first free-screen devices to get a stable version of Android 12L.
Microsoft’s Surface Duo series is unique because the devices don’t have a single large display. When these devices are opened, users are presented with two different screens. In its current iteration, Android 12L is optimized to use this arrangement.
The update unifies Surface Duo’s “Quick Settings” and “System Settings.” This shows that Google and Microsoft are working together to develop a new ecosystem for Android and Windows 11 users.
Will Android 12L be adopted for other big screen devices?
Google has introduced Windows 11 desktop backgrounds in this Android 12L. “Android 12L delivers a more personalized, responsive, and inclusive experience that dynamically adapts to customer wallpapers, is more responsive to touch with fluid animations, and comes with more accessibility tools,” Microsoft says.
With Android 12L, users can extend their desktop computer, Microsoft suggests. The OS ships with “integrated icons, colors, and UI controls.” Needless to say, these icons, themes and UI components are identical to the Windows 11 ecosystem.
Such developments, features, and even themes and settings might suggest that Android 12L might be exclusive to Microsoft’s Surface Duo series of devices. However, Google could simply continue to roll out Android 12L for other devices when a larger display is revealed. In fact, many Android tablets appear to run on an operating system that was developed for smartphones and later adapted for the big screen.
Android 12L could easily be the operating system for many form-specific devices and tablets. However, smartphone manufacturers apply their own custom skins to the base Android OS. This can complicate matters as Android 12L customizations may conflict with these custom layers.
Smartphones were getting new form factors. They are no longer just sheets of glass and metal or plastic. Google is trying to make Android foldable to reveal a screen that looks like a regular smartphone but the size of a tablet. But Google may need to work closely with smartphone manufacturers to tweak the operating system, as it did with Microsoft. Incidentally, Samsung’s tablets and Galaxy Fold series of devices have received Android 12L. This ensures that Google is willing to extend the OS to other manufacturers.
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