Android 12

Just checked for the update on Pixel 5 and there it was.

Why did google think giving us 24hrs of battery stats is a good idea?

In previous versions when we used to charge to 100% the stats used to reset.

Now it's shows stats from 24 hours which includes multiple charges cycles combined stats.

Did anyone else get a message indicating to update to Android 12 when you already have android 12?

So last night I installed android 12 on my Pixel 5, and the first impressions are not good. Mostly just things that I don't like, that I feel were better done on Android 11:

• The lock screen clock is so damn ugly

  • It doesn't look like a clock. Why is it so big? why can't I change it? Why does it look so different (but better) when I have a notification

• Why do I have 2 fewer quick settings when I drag down the notification view?

  • Obviously, its because more won't fit, but I don't need text next to it saying what it does, that's what the icon is for, so that text isn't needed

• The quick settings are on a black background even with light mode on

  • why? It just makes everything look inconsistent

• All menus have a solid background

  • Like entering your pin, the notification view, the app history, all now show a solid background rather than a darkened version of the wallpaper. It just looks so clumsy the way it changes from wallpaper to a solid colour

• Opening up the app drawer isn't as smooth

  • Android 11: the google search bar moves up to the top of the screen and the apps follow as if you are dragging them up.
    Android 12: The white background appears out of nowhere, the apps start sliding from halfway up, and the search bar just disappears from the bottom and jumps to the top

• Less customisation

  • Isn't the point of android 12 more customisation? then why can I no longer change the font, app icon shape, or the font

  • Why aren't there more colour options, the ones that are there are pretty limited

• Google home device controls are no longer in the power menu

  • That was a really convenient place for them, now I have to swipe down the quick settings (twice, because there's only 4 on the first swipe, and I want them to be the ones I use most), and then select home devices

• Turning Wi-Fi off now requires two taps since they combined wifi and mobile data into one quick setting

  • I never need to turn mobile data off, but sometimes wifi needs to go off, for example, if it's trying to connect to a network that I don't want to be on. This just adds an extra step to the process.

Sorry for the long post, these are just some of the things that I don't like about the new update. TBH, there isn't actually anything that I can think of that's better, my phone has just been made worse.

Does anyone else find any of these things annoying, or are you liking Android 12?

Being able to tap the date to pull up the calendar on the clock widget was something I'd do basically every day, now you have to either assign a completely separate widget for your calendar or go into your apps to open your calendar. Also to show the weather in "at a glance" will also show the date even though the date is part of my preferred clock widget, so I have the date displayed twice on my home screen. It sounds small but it's one of those things that feels like a huge step backwards in this new UI. Hopefully Google will clean this up in future updates.

What the hell are you doing, Google?

After updating(Pixel 4), I have noticed a couple of really bad design elements, disallowing the person to choose what's best for them and then - plain worsening of the usability aspects.

"Pixel that adapts to you" my ass. Changing accent colors based on wallpaper is marketed as advanced adapting? Taking away the user's options is the worst thing that Google could do to their customers - people who enjoy customization & advanced users who use Android devices for a reason.

Here is a list of some of the "this is dumb" experiences I have found from my usage, and from others as well

1. Lock screen clock. It's huge, it's not adjustable in any way and it looks ugly (this, of course, depends on the person, but not having the ability to change it is pretty wild)

2. Clock widget on the home screen. What is up with the ugly ass background, why can't we have an option to enjoy the wallpaper that we as users CHOOSE to set. Wasn't this what the marketing was all about? Phone adjusting to ME? This is just purely idiotic decision - why wouldn't you leave the old widgets as well, why do you have to push such shitty UI elements onto people?
   edit: this seems to be a bug. some people(including me) are not seeing the option to remove the background, some are.

3. Can't click on the date in the "At a glance" widget to open Calendar. (From comments) You can't click on the clock in the notification shade as well anymore.

4. The bubbly/stretchy animation - it's smooth, but it's not really nice seeing my whole screen bouncing around when I get to the bottom or top of something. This is especially noticeable in The App Drawer. This now feels like a kid's toy, not a device that power users could use.

5. Quick toggles - I for one don't mind the new design, but the fact that you can't change how round the borders are and how much space there is in the toggles themselves - that's just wasted space. On a similar note - it's impossible to flick-swipe the toggles away now. You have to swipe up 2 times, instead of 1 flick, to return to the app you were using.

6. What's a lot worse - is the fact that, for some reason, Google decided that transparent backgrounds are the enemy of state and forced solid background in both - app drawer and app switcher (and probably elsewhere). What makes it worse though, is how bad it's done. If you go in an app, press and pull the app switcher up (without releasing), the background is your wallpaper. Only after you release - the background becomes solid. (From comments) This also happens for the notification shade, even if you don't have any notifications... WHAT PROBLEM DOES THIS SOLVE OTHER THAN ME NOT BEING ABLE TO ENJOY MY WALLPAPER?

7. Continuing with the idiotic design elements - The App Drawer. It doesn't look half bad, until you start scrolling. Suddenly a big gray rectangle appears at the top. For some reason the search bar is sticky, with an ugly solid background, and, of course, there's no way to change it.

8. The "styling" of the Google Launcher. You can't change the style of little icons anymore, you can't change the style of big icons, you can't change the fonts, you can't change the accent colors to anything else than the bland 4 colors that are provided by Google. You basically can't do anything customization-wise, that you could on Android 11.

9. And now to the worst offender - the notifications. Grouping is different (worse), each notification in the shade takes up a lot more space - not because there's more information, but because of the rounded corners and added spacing in each notification. One message takes up half the screen, basically.

10. (From comments) Everything looks monotonous.

11. (From comments) At a glance widget taking up the whole width of the screen for some reason.

12. (From comments) Font size feels too big. If you go into settings and change it - then it's too small. There's a noticeable "gap" between the settings now, where you can't get the font to be "just right".

Don't get me wrong - the update is probably a good thing, but the "minor" things that Google has left in there - that look plain ugly, that worsens the experience, that ruins the look of the device completely is too much to handle.

In addition - I'm usually very open minded to visual changes and different experiences, but this update, especially from UI/UX perspective just feels cheap. It feels like I traded in my smartphone for a toy.

I would like for someone at Google to read this, but they probably won't, and probably wouldn't care anyways. For the first time since owning the device I'm feeling like I will have to go with custom rom to be able to adjust MY experience with the device.

Google has released first hardware upgrade for their cameras in years - that could welcome a lot of new users. The new Tensor chip sounds awesome as well. The price is very aggressively set.

But every single thing of that won't matter, if the software experience feels cheap and looks like crap.

Rant over, cheers.

edit: adding some points from comments as well

I'm seeing a lot of feature related reviews and some positive response for the latest update. As a Pixel 5 user I have to say I'm not finding the visual overhaul to be very intuitive, and I'm not personally seeing any useful improvements. I don't use widgets really so that's probably part of why the benefits are lost on me. But usually after a day or so I get used to a visual update and move on. This time I find myself continually bothered by the changes.

Am I the only one? Curious to see others' thoughts, both positive and negative.

12 seconds video :

It seems completely insignificant, but this regularly tricks me into thinking that a new notification appeared in the taskbar. Nope, it's just one of the clock digits that went from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 2, or even from 9 to 0.

Alright, it's not the end of the world and this is nothing compared to the ridiculous padding/margins that have already been discussed many times, but I can't understand how such a basic mistake (and easily fixable with a simple minimum width rule) can slip through in a product that will be shipped to billions of users.

The big ugly stupid fucking clock on the lock screen, the bizarre background stuff that has turned all my notifications pink even though I have a different background set, the obnoxious pull down that takes up the whole screen and adds button pushes to do stuff.

I want 11 back. I feel like 12 has really stepped away from technical and business users and taken a big leap toward iPhone users. It's so disappointing. For the first time in a long time I really am unhappy with the "next version" of android.

A13 may not be the next big thing update but more like a total fix what A12 failed to do. Just an opinion!

What A12 makes unique is the Material you. And the rest is a cluster of bugs that made the A12 experience worse. Not only did the A13 make the theme engine slightly better, the overall experience is pixel perfect again thanks to minute changes from smooth animations to better biometrics.