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Android 12 will be coming to Pixel phones in the ‘next few weeks’

Android 12 will be coming to Pixel phones in the ‘next few weeks’

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It’ll be available for the Pixel 3 and up, along with a few others later this year

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Android 12 beta running on a Pixel 4A 5G
Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge

Google’s latest major Android update, Android 12, isn’t available to the general public just yet, but it’s getting closer. The company wrote on its Android Developers site that it pushed the source to Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and is “officially” releasing the update. Despite Android 12 being technically available, you won’t find it appearing as an update on your Pixel phone for the “next few weeks,” according to the post.

When it does launch, it’ll come to the Pixel 3, Pixel 3A, Pixel 4, Pixel 4A, Pixel 4A 5G, Pixel 5, and Pixel 5A phones (wow, Google sure makes a lot of these now). It’s the software that you’ll see on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro when those launch later this year.

According to Google, it’ll also come to Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Tecno, Vivo, and Xiaomi devices later in 2021.

In case you’re curious what’s what with Android 12, I’ve got a review of the software, which I tested extensively on both a Pixel 3 and Pixel 4A 5G. It’s an update that is mostly focused on tweaking the way Android looks with Google’s new Material You design language. There are other features worth trying, including a new privacy dashboard that offers up more transparency on how your apps access your location, microphone, and camera, but overall, it’s not an update that aims to drastically alter how you use your phone.

If you need an extra hand with downloading and installing the update when it comes, we’ll be putting up a step-by-step guide for doing that on your Pixel or other supported phone, so stay tuned.