Traditionally, the AOSP launch of the next version of Android coincides with day one availability for Google phones. That is not the case this year, with Google only revealing that Pixel phones can expect an update in the "next few weeks." Google says over 225,000 people tested Android 12 over the course of the developer previews and betas.

Google officially highlights four Android 12 tentpoles for developers as part of today's AOSP availability. This starts with a "new UI for Android" that incorporates Material You (referred to today as "Material Design 3"), redesigned widgets, Notification UI updates, and App launch splash screens.

Dave Burke, VP of Engineering, in a blog post. "Keep an eye out for Android 12 coming to a device near you starting with Pixel in the next few weeks and Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Tecno, Vivo, and Xiaomi devices later this year."

Burke says  Google had "reduced the CPU time used by core system services by 22 per cent and the use of big cores by 15 per cent, improved app startup times and optimised I/O for faster app loading, and for database queries we've improved CursorWindow by as much as 49x for large windows.

Burke said that more responsive notifications" are achieved by restricting notification trampolines, with Google Photos launching 34 per cent faster after this change.

Other changes include Optimised foreground services, Performance classes for devices, and Faster machine learning. "Privacy" is led by the new Settings Dashboard, the ability to only grant apps approximate location, and a new Nearby devices permission for setting up wearables and other smart home accessories without granting location access.

There are microphone and camera indicators/toggles. Developers can take advantage of "Better user experience tools" like new APIs to better support rounded screen corners, rich content insertion, AVIF images, enhanced haptics, and new camera/sensor effects. There's also Compatible media transcoding, better debugging, and an Android 12 for Games push.