Latest news with #Android12
Daily Record
14-05-2025
- Daily Record
Google unveils huge Android 16 update with biggest redesign in years leaving tech users divided
Check out everything that has been announced for Android 16, the latest version due to be released to phones soon Google has unveiled Android 16, the next iteration set to hit smartphones later this year, surprising many with its extensive visual overhaul. Termed 'Material 3 Expressive', Android 16's aesthetic evolution is a continuation of the groundwork laid by Android 12 in 2021, which significantly revamped the interface. This is especially seen on Google's Pixel devices where the updates are implemented directly. The revamp promises to bring bold typefaces, enhanced customisation and colour scheme choices, fresh components and typography. Tweaks to animations and an abundance of widgets will also be part of the overhaul. Google claims the Material 3 Expressive - one of its biggest updates in years - "is all about making your device feel unique to you". "Material 3 Expressive gives you new ways to show your style and personality, delivers smooth interactions and surfaces glanceable, helpful information," Google went on. "As the world's most popular OS with more than three billion active devices in over 190 countries, it's an exciting time for Android. We're seeing a wave of flagship phones that are being recognised as the best globally. "This is thanks to ground-breaking hardware, smartest software and beautiful designs. "It's the platform where you see the future first." So, what's new in Android? According to Google, much of the update revolves around "more natural, springy animations" throughout the Android experience like notifications, complemented by new haptic feedback sensations under your fingertips. "You get similar moments like this across your device, like when you're dismissing an app in your recent apps screen, fidgeting with the volume slider or flinging down the shade," Google explained. "We even subtly blur the shade background to provide a sense of depth, so the motion feels lightweight and you're able to stay aware of the apps you're using in the background." Google has announced the introduction of Live Updates with Android 16, offering a feature comparable to Apple's where users can track live updates, such as the anticipated arrival time of their Uber or Deliveroo orders. This can be done directly from a widget on the lock screen. You'll also have the ability to customise and edit the quick settings panel on Android with greater precision, a feature also available on Apple's latest iOS 18, referred to as Control Centre. The new motion effects also jumped out at tech enthusiasts. When you swipe to dismiss a notification, the object you are swiping will be clear while other objects will blur slightly, making it easier to see. The other notifications nearby will move slightly as you swipe their neighbour. Security is a big priority, too. There are new safeguards against calling and text message scams. For example, if scammers call pretending to be from your bank, they might ask you to sideload an app. With Android 16, you won't be able to disable Google's Play Protect app-scanner or sideload any apps while you are on a phone call. You also won't be able to grant permission to the Accessibility features. This is a common way for scammers to sneak access to a phone in a roundabout way. Google's Messages app will also get sharper about text message scams - filtering out scam messages that ask you to pay overdue parking tickets or confirm if it is you trying to take £1,000 out your bank account. For simple peace of mind for the average phone user, Google is improving its old Find My Device feature. Android 16 will introduce the Find Hub to more efficiently track all your devices, similar to Apple AirTags. For the travellers among us, if your bag goes astray, Google is also working with airlines like British Airways to let you share your tag information so they can go look for the bag they lost. Tech users were left divided over the announcement and took to Twitter to share their views. "What is this gore?" one fumed. "Google successfully ruined Android 16". Another penned: "Android 16 Control panel looks good... until you expand it." A third scribed: " Android 16 looks so weird. The icon shapes, the clear all button placement. It all just looks so odd. "Of course the brightness slider isn't accessible in one swipe. I don't think I am ever going to get used to this design." Others were happy with the details that have been released thus far, though. "I really like like Material 3 Expressive and the new animations in Android 16," one enthused. A second agreed: "The new Control Centre of the Android 16 looks awesome." Google did not confirm timings for when these features will be introduced. The firm just said these concepts would appear in the months ahead. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
The Verge
13-05-2025
- The Verge
Android's youthful new design language just dropped
Google just announced a bold new look for Android, for real this time. After a false start last week when someone accidentally published a blog post too early (oh, Google!), the company is formally announcing the design language known as Material Three Expressive. It takes the colorful, customizable Material You introduced with Android 12 in an even more youthful direction, full of springy animations, bold fonts, and vibrant color absolutely everywhere. It'll be available in an update to the Android 16 beta later this month. Support for the Live Updates feature that Google introduced in an earlier Android 16 beta is nestled among the new design flourishes. It's Android's take on Apple's Live Activities, showing time-sensitive updates in a persistent notification bar. Unlike Apple, Android limits its use to food delivery, navigation, and rideshare apps. Today's announcement gives us a good look at how those notifications will appear on the lockscreen, always on display, in a status bar at the top of the screen, and on the notification shade. It looks pretty handy. Quick settings will get an update too, allowing users to resize and rearrange tiles in another echo of iOS. But the splashy new design language is the update's centerpiece. App designers have new icon shapes, type styles, and color palettes at their disposal. Animations are designed to feel more 'springy,' with haptics to underline your actions when you swipe a notification out of existence. Google's blog post and documentation for developers insist that this isn't just a fresh coat of paint; the new design elements help guide users' attention better. The bright purples and pinks featured throughout the company's concept images certainly do the trick, and help boost the new design's appeal with a younger demographic. Teenagers are particularly fond of their iPhones, especially in the US, and Google seems hopeful that a fresh design will attract a younger user base. In its previously leaked, now-public blog post, Google says that up to 87 percent of 18–24-year-olds prefer expressive design like the one the company is debuting today. And while it's definitely eye-catching, I have a feeling it'll take a little more than this to turn the teens onto Android.
Scottish Sun
12-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Millions of phone owners get anti-theft ‘secret weapon' to stop thieves breaking into your mobile after snatching it
A phone is stolen every seven-and-a-half minutes in London THAT'S PHONEY Millions of phone owners get anti-theft 'secret weapon' to stop thieves breaking into your mobile after snatching it MILLIONS of phone owners are to get a new anti-theft "secret weapon" on their mobile to stop thieves accessing the device after snatching it. The security feature means Android phones will start to reboot automatically if they haven't been used for three days. Advertisement 3 Phone-related crime is getting worse Credit: Getty 3 The new system means Android phones will reboot after three days Credit: Getty This means they will be more difficult to access if they haven't been used in a while as users have to enter the pin after a reboot. It comes after a recent survey from the Met Police revealed phones are stolen in London at a rate of one every 7 1⁄2 minutes. Figures show gangs and crooks took 70,137 mobiles last year — 192 a day. That is up a third from the 52,000 nicked in 2023, Met Police statistics show. Advertisement Another important reason for users and authorities to be aware of the update relates to the two lock states on mobiles – before first lock (BFU) and after first lock (AFU). In BFU, information and files on a phone are securely encrypted and completely inaccessible, even with complex extraction programmes. Therefore if cops seize a phone as evidence they will have less time to access the device. Phone thefts are now a £50million underworld industry, with most flogged or disassembled for parts in China. Advertisement People with phones still running Android 12 are advised to consider upgrading to a newer device. Security patches fix flaws that have been discovered in the software, which stops phones succumbing to hacking. Home Office figures show 90% of all 'theft from a person' crimes in London go unsolved, with a crook charged in only one per cent of cases. The unsolved figure is 86 per cent in England and Wales. Advertisement Due to the rise in phone thefts, the Met is using tracking tech and putting plain-clothed officers in the West End and Westminster, where 40% of all thefts occur. The City of London force is deploying bike-mounted police. Anna McEntee, at Compare the Market, said Londoners and those visiting the capital will be concerned by the substantial rise in phone thefts last year. She added that criminals are becoming "increasingly brazen, often using mopeds or e-bikes to make a quick getaway'. Advertisement The new security feature from Google is part of the April 2025 Google System release notes and is expected to apply to tablets but not wearables such as the Pixel Watch, televisions, or Android Auto Devices. Google hasn't said if users will be able to toggle this feature or change the time limit for rebooting. Since this feature is part of Google Play Services, those affected will see it without the phone going through a full system update. A BFU phone remains connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data, meaning that if you lose your phone and it reboots, you'll still be able to use location-finding services. Advertisement 3 It's designed to protect Android phones from hackers
The Irish Sun
12-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
Millions of phone owners get anti-theft ‘secret weapon' to stop thieves breaking into your mobile after snatching it
MILLIONS of phone owners are to get a new anti-theft "secret weapon" on their mobile to stop thieves accessing the device after snatching it. The security feature means Android phones will start to reboot automatically if they haven't been used for three days. 3 Phone-related crime is getting worse Credit: Getty 3 The new system means Android phones will reboot after three days Credit: Getty This means they will be It comes after a Figures show gangs and crooks took 70,137 mobiles last year — 192 a day. That is up a third from the 52,000 nicked in 2023, Met Police statistics show. Another important reason for users and authorities to be aware of the update relates to the two lock states on mobiles – before first lock (BFU) and after first lock (AFU). In BFU, information and files on a phone are securely encrypted and completely inaccessible, even with complex extraction programmes. Therefore if cops seize a phone as evidence they will have less time to access the device. Phone thefts are now a Most read in Tech People with phones still running Android 12 are advised to consider upgrading to a newer device. Security patches fix flaws that have been discovered in the software, which stops phones succumbing to hacking. Home Office figures show 90% of all 'theft from a person' crimes in London go unsolved, with a crook charged in only one per cent of cases. The unsolved figure is 86 per cent in England and Wales. Due to the rise in phone thefts, the Met is using tracking tech and putting plain-clothed officers in the West End and Westminster, where 40% of all thefts occur. The City of London force is deploying bike-mounted police. Anna McEntee, at Compare the Market, said Londoners and those visiting the capital will be concerned by the substantial rise in phone thefts last year. She added that criminals are becoming "increasingly brazen, often using mopeds or e-bikes to make a quick getaway'. The new security feature from Google is part of the April 2025 Google System release notes and is expected to apply to tablets but not wearables such as the Pixel Watch , televisions, or Android Auto Devices. Google hasn't said if users will be able to toggle this feature or change the time limit for rebooting. Read more on the Irish Sun Since this feature is part of Google Play Services, those affected will see it without the phone going through a full system update. A BFU phone remains connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data, meaning that if you lose your phone and it reboots, you'll still be able to use location-finding services. 3 It's designed to protect Android phones from hackers Time to upgrade? By Millie Turner, Senior Technology & Science Reporter It's hard to know when it's time to upgrade your smartphone - especially when it 'does the job' just fine. Can make phone calls? Yes. Text? Of course. Surf the internet? Yep. Still use my apps? Absolutely. For some, a no-frills phone is all that's necessary. Glossy AI features that can summarise emails and touch up your pictures are not on everyone's wish list. Unfortunately, it's when devices lose security support that they need to be retired. Once a phonemaker stops fixing software bugs in its handsets, they can become risky to use. Vulnerabilities will emerge over time that will never be fixed—and this essentially gives hackers free rein to exploit devices and innocent owners. However, this can only happen if they're still in use.
Forbes
08-05-2025
- Forbes
Check Your Phone Before Apps Stop Working This Month
Be warned — everything changes this month. There's bad news for more than a billion Android users this month. The apps on your phone may start to fail. This is deliberate, and follows a huge change Google has just made to the way Play Store operates. That's not the only issue. Those same billion users also now face a critical new security threat, after another change from Google. All this stems from the Android OS version running on your phone. While the Android 15 upgrade and latest Android 16 beta steal the headlines, more than half of all Android users still run phones on Android 12 or older. Take a look at Android's monthly security bulletins and you'll spot that while Android 12 was updated with critical fixes in March, come April and May that stopped. Only Android 13, 14 and 15 received updates. That means that Google's warning this week that Android is under attack is a major concern for those users. CVE-2025-27363 has only been fixed for Android 13 and 14. But there's another major new issue as well, one with even more serious long-term implications for the way in which those billion phones work moving forward. Starting this month, Google has changed the way in which its Play Integrity API works. This enables developers to change how their apps run depending upon the OS on a phone and the recency of security updates. And in this, Google has drawn a line between Android 13 and newer on one side, and Android 12 and older on the other. For Android 12 and below, Google says 'this update gives apps with higher security needs, like banking and finance apps, governments, and enterprise apps, more ways to tailor their level of protection for sensitive features, like transferring money. When the strong label isn't available for the user, we recommend that you have a fallback option.' That 'fallback option' means restrictions and reduced functionality. This means you now have two good reasons to check the Android version on your phone. If it's Android 12 or less, check if you can upgrade to a newer version of the OS. If you can't and if your OEM has not confirmed it is backporting Android updates for your OS, then you should upgrade your phone to something newer. If you're sticking with Android 12, then make sure you run good security software on your device — and be prepared for some apps to stop working properly from this month.
