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Today, Google released the final Android 12 beta before the OS properly launches, and with it a few of the visual changes and features we saw back when Android 12 was announced. Some of the notable inclusions in Beta 5 are the lovely geometric clock widgets, a redesigned calculator, and a new lock screen shortcut.
The clock app has also gotten some tweaks, according to 9to5Google, with an updated design, new animations, and (of course) colors that are responsive to your phone’s theme.
9to5Google also reports that Beta 5 brings the promised Material You overhaul for the calculator app as well, complete with pastel colors and more playful buttons. Here’s new vs. old:
The new design of Calculator 8.0 in Android 12. Image: Google
The old design of the built-in calculator found in Android 11.
XDA points out that the lock screen has a new device control shortcut that lets you control smart home devices with the tap of a button once you’ve woken your phone’s screen up. The device controls had already moved from Android 11’s power menu into the quick settings shade, but now they’re available in another, more convenient place. The button joins the Google Wallet shortcut that showed up on the lock screen in Beta 2.
Finally, Android Police reports that Pixel owners running the beta now have access to a new and improved search bar. For whatever you type in, it’ll show matching settings, contacts, and more, in addition to the app and Google results that the bar used to retrieve. We’d seen hints of this feature in previous betas, in the form of setting screens and APIs, but now it’s something you can actually use.
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