Android 12 update of love, joy and sorrow - Keitai Watch

About a year has passed since the release of the au version of Pixel 5. On the way, there was an emergency situation where I was faced with a mysterious reboot loop on the go, but I have a strong attachment to it, and I continue to use it as my main terminal every day. And the long-awaited major OS update was released on October 20th, and I applied it immediately.

　Well, after all, when you touch a new OS, you can't help but feel better!　This may be just a hobby of the author, but the similarities between the old and new OS, and the differences, There is joy in finding the obvious conveniences.

This is the main screen of the Pixel 5 that has been updated to Android 12, "Device Information", and it looks like this

As far as I've heard, the biggest highlight of the update is the new UI design and color scheme called "Material You". It would be the introduction of However, looking at what was applied to the actual machine, I was a little confused because I was not used to it. In particular, I feel that the specifications that change the UI text color and the color of the decision button according to the color of the wallpaper are a bit too bold. Personally, there are more than a few cases where I recognize the place to tap by color, so if it changes every time I change the wallpaper, I feel a little uncomfortable.

However, as for the dark mode, which I didn't like at first, I now like it, so I think that a lot of it comes down to getting used to it.

　The quick notification panel also has a larger tap area and a reduced number of items. ?).

Pixel 4 x Android 11 quick setting panel Pixel 5 x Android 12 quick setting panel

The ringtone mute ON function by pressing the "power + volume (up)" buttons at the same time, which is unique to the Pixel series, was still alive. However, for the ringtone mode displayed by short pressing the volume button (both large and small), the behavior when tapping the screen has changed. Until then, every time you tapped the icon displayed on the screen, normal, vibrate, and mute were toggled, but from this time, 3 modes are displayed at the same time, and you can choose any one arbitrarily.

The introduction of "one-handed mode" is also a big change for the Pixel series. If you swipe down on the navigation bar (the bar that is almost always displayed at the bottom center of the screen), the entire screen slides downward, making it easier to tap the icons at the top of the screen. It's a common feature on iPhones and Android smartphones other than Pixel, so I can't shake the feeling that it's lagging behind, but I'd like to welcome it.

The long-awaited (?) one-handed mode is no longer toggled when the volume button is pressed for a short time. What will happen to the one-handed mode of the Galaxy in the future?

　While new operational feeling was presented one after another, the sad thing was that Android Auto's use scene has declined significantly. It is a function that allows you to operate Google Maps' extensive navigation function directly on the smartphone screen and with a dedicated UI, but after the Android 12 update, it is clearly not available.

　Android Auto is only used in the mainstream for linking with in-vehicle devices, and will not be affected by the abolition of the functions mentioned here. On the other hand, the mode that completes on the smartphone screen is rather a sidestream, but it is still highly convenient and I personally used it habitually.

Even if you tap the Android Auto icon, you will only see this screen ... Google Maps driving mode. There are various explanations, but the point is, "Press 'start navigation' after looking up the car's route in route search, and this screen will appear."

Google will use Google Maps driving mode from now on. I am guiding you. However, the usability is slightly different from Android Auto, and it is difficult to operate the music application while navigating. It has become difficult to pinpoint the song you want to play.

Also, during navigation, even if you park or stop the car, the navigation will not automatically stop, and even if you are walking to the toilet, you will be rerouted frequently, and the voice guidance will be played each time. This problem did not occur if it was linked with the in-vehicle Bluetooth device, so honestly it became quite complicated. It really hurts!

　It's not limited to Android 12, but there are many things to do with OS updates. Nonetheless, the update will have a great effect on internal aspects such as OS stability. I'm sure there will be more small fixes coming in after this, so I'm going to enjoy the changes, including those.

Some music apps can be operated while in driving mode, but not all operations are supported

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