Welcome to the Android 12 Preview, a program that will help you build apps and adjust app compatibility for new versions of Android. The program is available free of charge, and you can get started right away by downloading the Preview SDK and tools.
Platform Stability Achievement Stage
Android 12 includes a milestone called Platform Stability to help you plan your final test and release. This milestone means Android 12 has reached the final internal and external APIs, final app-side behavior, and the final list of non-SDK APIs. We expect Android 12 to reach Platform Stability in Beta 4 in August 2021. From then on, there will be no further changes affecting your app.
We encourage all app, game, SDK, library, and game engine developers to use the Platform Stability milestone as a target for planning compatibility testing and final public releases. By using Platform Stability instead of the final release, you have a few extra weeks before consumers can receive this new platform on their devices.
Preview Phase
For developers, the areas to focus on during the Developer Preview are API input and app compatibility. App compatibility means making sure the current version of your app is correct and can run properly on the new platform.
The Developer Preview version provides an early test and development environment that you can use to try out new APIs, identify compatibility issues in your app, and plan any necessary migrations or features to target new platforms. The input you provide during this time is very important to us. You should also expect some API changes with each of these updates. Please review the migration guide for the steps to making your app compatible with this new platform, then target those platforms when you're ready.
Beta 1 provides you with a more complete and stable Android 12 build and test environment, and it's the first build we're providing to early adopters who have been enrolled in the Android Beta program for several months. During the Beta release period, early adopters will use your app on Pixel devices. So, we recommend watching feedback from these users and releasing compatible updates to address issues, without changing app targeting. This is a good time to start preparing for future app targeting changes.
With Beta 2 and Beta 3, you'll get a more complete and stable build to continue testing and development.
Starting from Beta 4, Android 12 will achieve Platform Stability, which means system behavior and APIs have been finalized. This is the time to begin the final testing and development needed to ensure that a compatible version of the app will be ready for users upon final release to the ecosystem. Android 12 will provide standard API levels for now.
Platform Stability is a great time to shift focus to final compatibility testing and releasing updated apps to downstream users and developers. You can also build apps with final APIs and enhance existing code that uses new APIs or features. You can plan your work with confidence that the platform and API won't change.
From Platform Stability, you can also publish your app to devices running Android 12 at the official API level. After Platform Stability, we recommend publishing to Google Play's alpha and beta tracks first, so you can test your app before distributing it widely through the store.
What's included in the Android 12 Preview?
The Android 12 Preview Program includes everything you need to test your existing apps with different screen sizes, network technologies, CPU/GPU chipsets, and hardware architectures.
SDK & NDK Tools
With Android Studio, you can download the following components via the SDK Manager:
- SDK, NDK and Android 12 tools
- Emulator system image for mobile devices (64-bit only, see release notes) Android 12
We will provide updates to these development tools at each milestone stage if needed. Read Getting Android 12 to get started. Read the migration guide for information on how to plan testing and development to align with the Android 12 release cycle, as well as release notes for common issues.
System images
The Android 12 preview includes system images for various Pixel devices that you can use for development and testing. Visit the Download page for an image of the development and test system.
If you don't have a Pixel device, you can develop and test it using the Android Emulator system image. Using Android Studio, download these components via the SDK Manager:
-Emulator system image for mobile devices (64-bit only, see release notes) Android 12
OTA update for Pixel via Android Beta program
If you have a Pixel 5, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 4, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 3, or Pixel 3 XL device, you can enroll that device in the Android Beta for the Pixel program to get updates to the over-the-counter (OTA) Android 12 Beta. Once registered, devices will receive regular over the air (OTA) updates for the latest Android 12 builds up to (and including) the final release.
>>To register, go to g.co/androidbeta<<.
Preview and publish API
The Android 12 preview initially provides development-specific Android systems and libraries that do not have a standard API level. If you want to target new platforms and build with the new Android 12 APIs during this time, you must target the Preview version of Android 12 by setting the existing targetSdkVersion and minSdkVersion in your app to "S" and its grandle compileSdkVersion to "android-S". For more information, read Update the build configuration for Android 12.
Preview Android 12 provides preview APIs — these APIs will not become official until the final SDK is released on the Stability Platform. This means you can expect API changes from time to time, especially during the Developer Preview phase of the program. We'll provide a summary of the changes with each release of the Android 12 Preview.
Later in Preview, the developer API will be finalized and you can download the official Android 12 SDK into Android Studio, target the official API level, and compile with the official API.
Until the Platform Stability stage is reached, Google Play will prevent publishing apps that target Android 12's official 'S' or API level. When the final SDK is available, you can target the official Android 12 API level and publish your app to Google Play using the alpha, beta, release channels, and production. Meanwhile, if you want to distribute your app to testers targeting Android 12, you can do so by email or direct download from your site at any time.
