Last month the first developer beta for Android 12 arrived and now the second has dropped, too. But here’s how you can download it right now.
We don’t know everything about Android 12 just yet — it’s still early days, after all. But thanks to some leaks, as well as the dev beta, we know some of what’s in store. And you can read all about that right here.
If you want to grab the Android beta for yourself right away, read on.
Of course, keep in mind that beta software is not a final product. This means that it can be buggy and even have the potential to brick your phone. So if you’re going to do this, do so with caution and please back everything up first.
In other words, enter at your own risk! You have been warned.
What phones does Android 12 work on?
The new versions of Android always come out on Pixel devices first. This is the same for the Android 12 beta and will continue to be true when it enters public beta and when it releases officially.
At the moment, that means that the Android 12 develop beta is downloadable to the following Google Pixel devices:
- Pixel 3 series,
- Pixel 3a series
- Pixel 4 series
- Pixel 4a series
- Pixel 5
How to download the Android 12 beta
First you’ll need the an applicable Pixel device, as detailed above. You’ll also require a PC, Mac or Linux computer with 10GB of available storage and a cable to run between the two.
Connect your Pixel device to your computer and you’re good to go.
From there you’ll need to do download the Android 12 DP1 flash tool to your computer from the official site and install the software to your device.
This is the easiest way to install Android 12 right now, but you can also do it manually. However, this involves a lot more steps, as well as installing SDK tools and USB drivers.
If this still sounds good, power to you. You can find the full instructions over on Android Police.
When does it come out officially?
The public beta for every new Android OS tends to come out around Google I/O — the company’s annual developer conference. This year its pegged to be in May.
As for the official release, Android 12 will probably release around September in time for the Pixel 6. Still, nothing is concrete yet so we’ll keep you updated when we know more.