Android 12 brings a whole bunch of features, here are the best.

With so many new and incredible Android devices hitting the market, Android 12 couldn’t have come at a better time.

It’s the latest version of the software and it brings a number of improvements and new features that are set to make your Android experience a whole lot better.

Android 12 is more personal, much safer and makes for a more effortless experience. Featuring an all new user interface, privacy advancements that put you first and a whole new world of gaming.

We’ve pulled together a list of 10 features of Android 12 that we think are the absolute best.

1) A revamp with you in mind.

Perhaps you’ve had a bad experience, with a decorator or interior designer, who despite you explicitly telling them what you wanted, have gone with their own vision instead.

We assure you that you won’t get this experience with Android 12. The user interface, or UI for short, has been redesigned with you and you only in mind.

Notice our reputation of the word you, that was intentional. The new Material You works by blending various elements together into a design language that’s transferred across the entire operating system.

A snapshot of Android 12 colours on lots of Android devices.
A re-design with you in mind. 

Colour extraction is the base coat of paint in the redesign. Android 12 will extract colours from your wallpaper to create a theme that’s personal to you.

You can also choose to override this entirely and create your own colour palette, so you get the best of both worlds.

2) Emphasis on widgets.

Widgets are a much-loved feature used on iPhone and Android 12 brings emphasised widgets to Android devices.

Previously, widgets on Android were cast to the side to make room for more viewing and seamless scrolling.

Now they’re back and better than ever. Widgets look better and function better than ever and with the revamped design, it’ll be super easy to personalise them too.

3) Settings made quicker.

Quick Settings on Android have had an upgrade thanks to Android 12. The small toggles are gone people and larger, rectangle buttons are here to stay.

These new buttons work just the same and you can still tap to turn them on and off. There are a number of quick settings you can create for things like Google Pay, alerts and bits and bobs for your smart home appliances.

There are also new settings you can create for camera and microphone access, making for easier photos and faster recordings. Enjoy toggles that are easier to read with more information than before.

4) Scroll with it.

Scrolling screenshots are another incredible feature of Android 12. It’s perfect for those moments when you want to screenshot an entire webpage or an email.

It’s super easy to do too! Simply take a screenshot like normal then tap the Capture More button. This will let you get a full scrolling screenshot that you can crop at your leisure.

5) One-handed mode.

One-handed mode is the ideal solution to those of you who’ve always got their hands full. Whether that’s cooking dinner, holding hands with the little one or have a glass of wine in one.

When you need to send a quick text or make a call, one-handed mode lets you do it with just that – one hand.

One-handed mode on a Samsung.
One-handed mode is great when you've got your hands full.

It works by shrinking everything down to half the size, making everything easy to reach using one hand. The top half of your screen will appear blank, which is great news for those of you with mobiles on the taller side.

6) Sharing is caring, especially Wi-Fi.

There’s nothing more frustrating than when you’re hosting and lots of people are shouting, all at once, demanding your Wi-Fi password.

Your partner has lost that little card with the password one, despite you telling them to keep it safe.

You’ve now got to wrestle with the jungle of wires behind the telly to get to your router to get the password. Or do you? Not with Android 12.

Nearby Share lets you send your Wi-Fi details with those around you – a much quicker method than the QR code. (Which is still available too!)

7) Searching made easy.

AppSearch is another handy feature brought to you by Android 12. We’ve seen it on a number of other devices and it’s hugely popular.

It allows you to search for bits and bobs within your apps. One thing we’ve found it super-useful for, is when you’re trying to find a text you sent months ago or looking for a specific note you wrote recently.

This feature works offline, meaning you can search wherever you are, and is super-fast too.

8) What’s your face saying?

Auto-rotation on your mobile can be the best thing or the worst thing. Unless it’s locked, it has always just rotated your screen based on the positioning of your phone.

Android 12 brings an upgrade to auto-rotate that means it will now focus purely on your face. This is perfect for those moments when you’re laid in bed on your side – your phone will detect that your face hasn’t moved and stay the same.

9) Audio selection made fast.

We’re talking about the quick settings menu again. The media player, hidden in your quick settings, lets you easily change your audio source.

You simply need to click the button and a full list of all your connected devices will appear. This is great if your speaker dies, and you quickly need to make a switch – before anyone at the party notices.

10) Content insertion is easy.

This next update cuts out the middleman of sharing data from one app to the next. Instead of having to save an image or a video, you can copy the media and paste it in another app.

We think this will be most useful when you’re sending someone a photo from a website or a clothing app on your mobile.

It’ll save you the hassle of having to dig through your camera roll and will save you some space where lots of screenshots would be.

The best of Android.

These are just 10 of our favourites that we’ve picked out. There are endless incredible features of Android 12 that are just waiting to be explored.

Want to take Android 12 for a spin on a new Android device? You’re in the right place. We’ve got epic deals on the best from Samsung, Google, Sony and more.