Google has begun testing the third beta version of the open mobile platform Android 12. The release of Android 12 is expected in the third quarter of 2021. Firmware builds are prepared for Pixel 3 / 3 XL, Pixel 3a / 3a XL, Pixel 4 / 4 XL, Pixel 4a / 4a 5G and Pixel 5 devices, as well as for some devices from ASUS, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, TCL, Transsion , Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE.
Main changes compared to the second beta:
- Added the ability to create screenshots that cover not only the visible area, but also the content in the scroll area. The ability to save content outside the visible area works for all applications that use the View class for output. To implement support for scrollable screenshots in programs using specific interfaces, the ScrollCapture API is proposed.
- The structure includes a new high-performance search engine AppSearch, which allows you to index information on the device and perform full-text searches with ranking results. AppSearch provides two types of indexes - for organizing searches in individual applications and for searching the entire system.
- An API has been added to the WindowInsets class to determine the display position of the camera and microphone usage indicators (indicators can overlap controls in full-screen programs, and the application can adjust its interface through the specified API).
- For centrally managed devices, an option has been added to disable the use of switches to turn off the microphone and camera.
- Companion Device Manager (CDM) applications running in the background that manage related devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers have the ability to launch active (foreground) services.
- Improved auto-rotate screen content that can now use front camera face recognition to determine if the screen needs to be rotated, such as when a person is using the phone while lying down. To ensure confidentiality, information is processed on the fly without intermediate saving of images. The feature is currently only available on Pixel 4 and newer smartphones.
- Optimized animation when rotating the screen, which reduced the delay before rotation by about 25%.
- The Game Mode API and related settings have been added to allow you to control the performance profile of the game - for example, you can sacrifice performance to extend battery life or use all available resources to achieve maximum FPS.
- Added play-as-you-download function to download game resources in the background during the installation process, allowing you to start playing before the download is complete.
Additionally, the July set of fixes for security problems for Android was published, in which 44 vulnerabilities were eliminated, of which 7 vulnerabilities were assigned a critical level of danger, and the rest were assigned a high level of danger. Most critical issues allow a remote attack to be carried out to execute code on the system. Issues marked as dangerous allow code to be executed in the context of a privileged process through manipulation of local applications.
6 critical vulnerabilities affect proprietary components for Qualcomm chips, and one is the Widevine DRM module (buffer overflow when processing third-party content). In addition, you can note vulnerabilities in the Android Framework, Android Media Framework and Android System components, which allow you to increase your privileges in the system.
Source: opennet.ru