Google released the first Android 12 Developer Preview back in February, and since then, the company has been regularly rolling out new versions of the OS as part of its regular release schedule. A month ago, it announced Android 12 Beta 3, and today, it has released Android 12 Beta 4, which also means that the OS has hit Platform Stability.
Platform Stability is a major milestone in the pre-release schedule of each Android version. It indicates that all APIs and app-facing behaviors have been finalized and will not be changed in subsequent versions leading to general rollout. As such, developers are now being encouraged to start testing and releasing compatibility updates to ensure that their apps work fine when Android 12 becomes generally available.
Google has highlighted that while Android 12 comes with a ton of new APIs and capabilities to explore, initial focus for developers should be to test the existing quality and compatibility of their apps. The company has outlined a bunch of behavior changes to explore, such as Privacy Dashboard, splash screens, keygen modifications, microphone and camera toggle indicators, custom notifications, new permissions for exact alarms, and more. Another area of focus should be testing use-cases where your app is attempting to utilize non-SDK interfaces.
Developers who want to try out Android 12 Beta 4 can receive the over-the-air (OTA) update across the list of eligible devices here. You can also check out our handy and brief guide outlining the process here. If you don't own any of the eligible devices, you can set up the operating system on the Android Emulator. Moving forward, developers have one more Beta version to look forward to, which will be the release candidate for general rollout.
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