What’s the difference between Android 12L and Android 13, and when will my phone get it?
Google switched up its Android release cycle in the last few months withAndroid 12L, and that’s caused a little confusion, especially with 12L still being in beta testing as Android 13 developer previews have started to land. We’ve seen some pretty outlandish speculation about how Android 12L will affect phones going forward, but the short version is that itprobablywon’t have much of an impact; Android 13 is still the next release most people should be anticipating upgrading to.
The difference between Android 12L and Android 13
To start, Android 12L isn’t a fork or anything like that. Yes, Google gave 12L its own API version, but the company does that any time changes to Android introduce new APIs so that developers have something to target. If you ignore the weirdness of the name itself, Android 12L is really just a return to the X.1 releases Google used to do. Remember Android 7.1 and 8.1? This is very similar to that, and much of the community even thought itmight just end up being called Android 12.1.
Android 12L exists so Google can roll out some much-needed changes for big-screen devices like tablets and foldables, as part of what is clearly a priority shift as it tries to invest in a segment that it (and the market) has mostly ignored: Android tablets.
That’s a whole can of worms to discuss in itself, but the actual documented changes for developers are pretty simple: improvements to how display orientation can be detected, multi-window tweaks, changes to display scaling, and UI tweaks to better accommodate the extra space (among other adjustments). To some extent, Android 12L is a modern version of Android 3.0 Honeycomb, targeting a specific form factor with new features but likely short-lived in itself. Google has confirmed to me that framing Android 12L as a “one-off” is generally correct — not that this kind of one-off won’t happen again.
Android 13, on the other hand, is a “normal” annual Android release, with features and changes that target a wide variety of device types. So far, thepublic list of changesis small, but it’s very early in the release cycle, and deeper tweaks have already been spotted in development. Android 12 was also a pretty substantial update, so any “normal” Android update will seem less significant as a follow-up. But it’s important to note that Android 13 itself also contains all the changes in Android 12L, according to Esper.io’s Mishaal Rahman, making the lineage apparent — there’s no “fork.” (Okay, there isoneminor difference between the two when it comes to the split-screen button in PiP windows being enabled/disabled by default, but that’s likely immaterial and will be resolved in the next Android 13 build.)
Changes like these won’t be too helpful on a phone-sized Android device.
Even just the numerical difference makes the distinction between these releases pretty clear, though. Android 12L is just 12 forLarge devices, while Android 13 will be a whole new release. Even though Google is incrementing the API level for Android 12L, that’s just a requirement of API changesperiodso developers can have a minimum target when developing apps that take advantage of the big-screen tweaks. It would be just as fair to call it Android 12.1 — it doesn’t even have its own section in the developer documentation, existing asa sub-section for Android 12, whileAndroid 13 stands alone.
In short, Android 12L is a tweaked version of Android 12 for big-screen devices like tablets and foldables, while Android 13 is a bigger, more traditional update that also includes all the changes in 12L.
When will my device get Android 12L or Android 13?
The Android 12L update will debut in early 2022 — Googleliterally says it in the developer documentation. Though the company only calls out tablets, Chromebooks, and foldables as getting 12L, it was also tested for Pixels, and they could get it too, or there wouldn’t have been any reason to test it on them.
There is one very big detail we should point out, though, since it’s been a point of some confusion. Although Google’s documentation calls it a “feature drop” in some places, the company tells me that’s just an expansion of the use of that name, andAndroid 12L will not necessarily be tied to a Pixel feature drop update. Based on some odd ambiguity between “Android 12” and “Android 12L” in the developer documentation, I also think Googlemighteschew giving the update the Android 12L name if and when it rolls out, but that could also just be poor planning when it comes to the documentation.
There’s no provided schedule for when other companies might roll out Android 12L to their own devices. But, if I had to guess, I suspect it might only come to some high-profile foldables and tablets ahead of Android 13’s release in the fall — particularly if history is any indicator.
Most devices will probably get Android 12L’s features later with a stable Android 13 update.
Remember those X.1 updates we talked about, like Android 7.1 and Android 8.1? A lot of smartphone companies basically ignored them when they landed, simply sticking to the yearly upgrade cadence. (Confidentially, I’ve been told that there was some manufacturer pushback for these X.1 updates as well, and that’s part of why they disappeared for a while.) While the state of Android updates is different now than it was then, and most manufacturers are on the ball and able to roll out updates quickly, I suspect Android 12L won’t be a very attractive proposition for most smartphone makers, given almost all of its changes target big-screen devices and won’t be very useful on phones.
This is all conjecture without much in the way of solid proof. But as an educated guess and given the history of those X.1 updates, I expect we might see some tablets pick up Android 12L this spring or summer, and Samsungmightupdate its foldables for it as well, but I’m not actively anticipating a big wave of Android 12L updates for most Android devices, and especially not on phones.
When it comes tomostphones, I suspect Android 12L’s changes will only land as part of Android 13 later this year or in 2023 — and with 12L’s biggest benefits limited to the biggest screens, that’s not really a problem, either.
For more information on both updates, follow along for ourAndroid 13 feature level coverageand wait with us as the last Android 12L betas land.
Check your order status!
What’s new? A lot
It’s $30 off for a limited time
Get 14 ports for $170
Goodbye, text-only analysis
This article is sponsored by Total Wireless.
