Google Is Still Putting The "Finishing Touches" On Android 12 For Pixel

It’s safe to say that Google putting Android 12 into AOSP today, and not rolling it out to Pixel users was quite a shock to everyone. Typically, that is done on the same day. Google stated in its blog post today that it would be “coming to a device near you starting with Pixel in the next few weeks.” It also referenced the Android Dev Summit which is taking place on October 27 – that’s when most are expecting to see it now.

So why isn’t it rolling out to Pixel devices today? Well, according to Google, it said that it is “putting the finishing touches on a special release with Pixel-exclusive and Pixel-first experiences on Android 12.” So that’s Google’s explanation as to why it is not available for Pixel today.

We don’t have a clue what these Pixel-exclusive features might be, but we are due for a Pixel Feature Drop. As we were supposed to get one in September, but that didn’t happen. So we expect to see it later this month. But we do expect that Material You will be a Pixel-exclusive, at least for a little while. As it is not expected to be in AOSP for a few months. And considering most overlays don’t use Google’s own design, most smartphones wouldn’t see Material You anyways.

This is all very unprecedented

This whole release is pretty unprecedented. As Google typically releases the stable version of Android in September, and starts uploading the code to AOSP that same day. Instead of it being at least a month later.

Of course, with the big Material You update this year, and all the privacy features, that could be what is pushing back the release of Android 12. But we won’t know for sure, for a little while. If we ever find out. But expect a special release for the Pixel with Android 12 very soon.