Google on Wednesday announced that Android 12, the next major operating system update for Android phones and tablets, has reached the Platform Stability stage with the release of Beta 4.
The update will start rolling out today for those who have a Google Pixel phone enrolled in the Android beta program. For those who are testing the beta on a compatible device from ASUS, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp and ZTE, those vendors should also release Beta 4 today as well, according to Google.
Platform Stability in Beta 4 simply means that app developers can have confidence when testing their apps in Android 12 now that all behaviors and “app-facing surfaces” are finalized. In other words, Google doesn’t intend to make any changes to Android 12 that will break apps.
We expected a total of four betas after the public beta program launched in May, for a grand total of seven updates since the developer previews first made their debut in February.
From here, Google will release one more update that’s considered a release candidate. The RC is very likely the same build that ends up rolling out to the public shortly after its release.
Google hasn’t announced when the Android 12 RC or official build will be released. We only know the RC build will be available in the coming weeks, and the official launch will be “later this year.”
If you haven’t installed the Android 12 beta yet, now isn’t a bad time to go ahead and take the plunge. You may run into the occasional bug or issue with a third-party app, but the overall experience should be fairly smooth.
See also: Living the Beta Life: Testing Apple, Google, and Microsoft pre-release operating systems
