Google Releases Android 12 Beta 5 With Pixel 5a Support, Final Build Just Weeks Away
The latest step in the “platform stability” phase comes with Android 12 Beta 5, the final beta release for the operating system. The next step will be to release the final Android 12 build, which will be available to eligible current hardware and will ship with all-new smartphones (and tablets).
"All app-facing surfaces are final, including SDK and NDK APIs, app-facing system behaviors, and restrictions on non-SDK interfaces," writes Google's Dave Burke, VP of Engineering. "With these and the latest fixes and optimizations, Beta 5 gives you everything you need to complete your testing.
"With the official Android 12 release coming next, we’re asking all app and game developers to complete your final compatibility testing and publish your compatibility updates ahead of the final release."
Speaking of the final release of Android 12, Burke says that it is just "a few weeks away." So if you sat on the sidelines while Google progressed from the initial Android 12 developer previews to the most recent betas but was reticent to install unfinished and potentially buggy software, the wait will soon be over.
Google also announced that the newly launched Pixel 5a is eligible to install Android 12 Beta 5. So now's your chance to install Google's brand new operating system on its latest smartphone. Looking further down the road, Google's flagship Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will launch with Android 12 installed out of the box. The latest rumors suggest that the smartphone will be announced on October 28th.
