Android 12’s last beta brings a few makeovers and new widgets

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.

Grid View

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  The flower-like analog clock option.
  
  

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  The pill-shaped digital clock option.
  
  

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:

Image: Google

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.

For some of the smaller tweaks that have shown up in Beta 5, you can read 9to5Google or XDA’s complete roundups. Or, if you’d like to see the changes for yourself and have a supported device, you can follow our guide on how to install the beta here. Do be warned that while the OS is set to be released “in a few weeks,” it may still have a few rough edges here or there.