The final release of Android 12 is coming very soon, but details have started to drip in on what follows it. While the logical answer to that would be "Android 13," Google is apparently going for an approach it hasn't taken in quite some time: a point release. Recent evidence strongly suggests Google will be releasing a minor revision shortly after Android 12. Now, screenshots of a 12.1 build have surfaced online, and by the looks of it, it's becoming way better for foldable phones.
The screenshots were shared by the folks over at XDA, who managed to get their hands on a leaked internal build of Android 12.1. And the first change we can immediately notice is that the big screen experience for foldable phones and tablets is greatly improving. The new UI makes better use of the extra screen real estate provided by big displays, and even includes a bottom taskbar for navigation that makes multitasking easier, similar to desktop operating systems.
In a way, it reminds us of the really old tablet UI found in Android 4.0, released roughly ten years ago, which was actually really good. Subsequent OS versions toned down the tablet optimizations, and ever since, poor big-screen support has always been the bane of Android's existence when it comes to tablets, as tablets are forced to function mostly like oversized smartphones. Big screens are becoming popular again thanks to foldable smartphones like the Galaxy Z Fold3, so it makes sense for Android to start supporting bigger form factors properly again (and tablets will ultimately end up benefitting from this as well).
Additionally, Google seems to be preparing a foldable phone of its own, which will presumably be called the "Pixel Fold" and might come out by the end of the year — XDA thinks Android 12.1 might be tied with its release, and we can clearly see why that is.
A screenshot of XDA's Android 12.1 build compared to the tablet UI of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
We've suspected for a while that Google is planning to launch a point release for Android 12. We presume it's a point release because regular Android 12 is API level 31, and there's an API level 32, which corresponds to a branch called "sc-v2" rather than Android 13, but it's still unclear if Google will really market it as 12.1. In addition to the changes for big screens, the release is also going to open-source the Monet dynamic theming system and bring it to AOSP Android.
We're expecting Google to release this build shortly after the initial Android 12 update, which is due next month. As for the elusive Pixel Fold, it remains tightly under wraps, but if it's indeed getting released, it might be unveiled together with Android 12.1.
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