Yesterday, Google began to roll out Android 12 stable update for eligible Pixel smartphones. We have been learning about the new features in the latest version of Android ever since the first Developer Preview was released earlier this year. Looks like there are still some new features that are yet to be unearthed.

I've been giving the Android 12 CDD a *very* thorough read, and I just discovered something quite interesting.

Looks like Android 12 quietly added a new profile type called "Clone." Android seems to finally natively add app cloning support, without the weird work profile hack!

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) October 18, 2021

A few hours back, Mishaal Rahman, former Editor-in-Chief of XDA Developers, tweeted (via GSMArena) that Android 12 has quietly added support for native app cloning. He found the mention of it in the official Android 12 Compatibility Definition Document (CDD).

‘App clone’ on Android is not something new. Many OEMs offer this feature in their Android skin. But this is the first time, Google has baked the functionality natively in the operating system.

Previously, if a user wanted to use multiple instances of a specific app on Pixels and devices without the app clone feature, they would have to create a work profile. Above all,  they would have to switch between two profiles to access two different instances of the same application.

But not anymore. With Android 12, the primary user of the device can create a clone of their desired applications and access both instances from the same profile. 

Having said that, since Android 12 is still new and only Pixels have started receiving it, app developers might take some time to add support for the new native cloning feature.

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