Software experience on tablets and foldables has never been Android’s strong point but the upcoming Android 12L update may very soon change that. The update refines the system UI to take advantage of larger screens, bringing along changes like a dual-panel notification center that lets users view notifications and interact with quick settings simultaneously.
The update schedule went up earlier today and showed that the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are indeed eligible for Android 12L, thus clearing all doubts regarding the same. It will be the very last for the series, with security updates ceasing soon after in May 2021.
Android 12L is scheduled to receive its first beta build starting in December, with the final release expected sometime in the first quarter of 2022.
This comes not long after a recent report saying that the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have hit EOL, and will not be receiving any Android upgrades or security patch updates anymore.
However, as it turns out, the devices are still eligible for one last update (via 9to5Google). Google has promised another that’s set to go live sometime in Q1 2022. A similar pattern was observed with the Pixel 2 and 2 XL last year when the company skipped the November patch with the promise of another update in December.
This last Pixel 3 update will presumably bring multiple bug fixes for Android 12. The update had brought along Material You support but gave a miss to some other capabilities, like those that require the new Google Assistant.
The only thing we find rather odd here is that the Pixel 3 series has not made it to the Android 12L compatibility list, despite getting a similar release date for its last update.
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