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Extra Dim in Android 12: The Definite Guide

How does Extra Dim in Android 12 work? How to customize and use Extra Dim?

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Extra Dim in Android 12: The Definite GuideExtra Dim is a less-known yet very useful new feature in Android 12.

It is not included in our top 12 new features in Android 12 because Extra Dim is a “niche” feature for very specific scenarios (if you often use the phone in a dark environment), not because it is not important.

Extra Dim is often misunderstood by even many professionals. Therefore, many users are confused the Extra Dim with the brightness control.

This Android 12 guide explains what the Extra Dim in Android 12 is, how it works, how to use it in Android 12, and corrects some common misunderstandings about Extra Dim in Android 12.

What is Extra Dim in Android 12?

Sometimes, you may feel the phone screen is too bright in a dark environment (e.g., in a theatre). However, the brightness level is already set to the minimum level or auto-brightness (adaptive brightness) is already on.

Basically, you are stuck on that uncomfortable brightness level.

Extra Dim, which was introduced in Android 12,  is designed to solve this issue for you. It can further reduce up to 50% of the brightness of the screen for you.

In Android 12, Google implemented Extra Dim as an accessibility feature to further reduce the “brightness” of the screen below the minimum level specified by the hardware vendor.

This may sound ridiculous. How can the brightness be lower than the minimum level specified by the hardware vendor?

So, here is the catch. When Extra Dim is activated,  the colour range will be reduced.

In other words, you get a dimmer screen at the price of the accuracy of the colours. Read on.

As this is a built-in accessibility feature in Android 12, none of the Android vendors has changed this feature.

In addition to the entry in the accessibility settings,  a quick setting button for Extra Dim can be found in most Android 12 phones (e.g., in Galaxy S22).

How does Extra Dim in Android 12 work?

To understand how Extra Dim works, we need to know a bit (just a bit) about the colour and brightness.

Each colour on the screen has a value. For example, if the screen can only display 256 colours (8bit; most smartphone screens actually can display 16,777,216 colours or 24bit), the black colour will have a value of 0, and the white 255. The colour range is then 0-255.… Read the rest

How to update to Android 12?

Everything you need to know on getting the Android 12 update

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How to update to Android 12?Android 12 was officially released on October 4, 2021. But many Android device owners are still waiting for the update and want to know how to update to Android 12.

This Android 12 guide explains why some Android devices got the Android 12 update already, some are still waiting for it, and some will never get it. The guide also shows how to check the Android 12 update for your device and how to update your phone (or tablet) to Android 12.

Why am I still waiting for the Android 12 update?

When Android 12 (Snow Cone) was released to the public on October 4, 2021, these were only the “core” of the new Android OS.

Unlike Windows, Android releases the source code, not the executable. The drivers for the components of your Android device, e.g., the touchscreen, the sensors, the modem, are usually not included.

So, before the new Android OS code is compiled with the drivers for the components, the source code of Android 12 is actually useless for your phone.

To make it worse, you have to wait for the manufacturer of your Android device to build the executable because most of these drivers are proprietary. You cannot do it by yourself.

So, it will take the manufacturer some time to test and build the new “firmware” for your phone. In fact, Google released the Android 12 build for Pixel phones on October 19, 2021. These are the first Android phones with Android 12 updates.

Some big manufacturers, like Samsung, are deeply involved in beta testing and usually have more resources to put everything together to roll out the Android 12 update. So, you will get the Android 12 update for your device within 2-3 months. Older devices may also get the Android 12 update, although the update usually comes later than newer devices.

Some middle-tier Android vendors, like Motorola (or its parent company Lenovo), are reluctant to invest resources on sold devices. They care more about getting quick money (sell new devices). They may roll out the Android update on a few latest models.

Smaller Android vendors may not have enough resources to build a new OS for older devices, and therefore, these devices will NEVER get the Android 12 update.

How about the unofficial Android 12 update?

Building the latest Android OS for older devices normally requires even more resources than for newer devices due to some compatibility (with some new features) issues of “a few” old components used in the older devices.… Read the rest

How to quickly snooze notifications in Android 12?

You can use the snooze button to quickly snooze any notifications.

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quickly snooze notifications in Android 12In Android 12, you can quickly snooze notifications and customize the snoozing period for individual notifications.

This Android 12 guide explains the new functions and features of quickly snoozing notifications and customizing the snoozing period for individual notifications. It shows you step-by-step how to use it to quickly snooze notifications in Android 12.

Please note this guide applies to stock Android 12 (including Android One) or near-stock Android 12 (e.g.,  on Moto phones). However, Android vendors may customize and alter this feature. For example, the notification snoozing works differently on Samsung Galaxy phones with Android 12 (One UI 4).

What’s new on snoozing notifications in Android 12?

Android introduced notification snooze in Android Oreo. The feature was gradually improved and polished in Android Pie, Android 10, and Android 11.

Now, in Android 12, some new features/functions were added:

  • A snooze button for each notification was added so that you can tap to snooze the notification for a while.
  • A dropdown menu that allows you to customize snoozing period for individual notifications.

So, you will find these two minor updates extremely if you use the notification snooze frequently.

How to quickly snooze notifications in Android 12?

By default, when you expand notifications in the notification panel in Android 12, you will see the additional snoozing button, as shown in the screenshot below.

Each notification has its own snoozing button. And it is not necessary to use any gestures to access the button.

Android 12 notification panel snooze button for each notifications

So, you can quickly snooze notifications in Android 12.

For example, as shown in the screenshot above, you can just tap the snooze button to snooze the notification for 1 hour, which is the default snooze duration in Android 12.

You can undo the snooze operation by tapping the Undo button, as shown in the screenshot below. This would cancel the snooze.

The snooze button, by default, also works in the lock screen. In other words, if you choose to show notification contents on the lock screen, you will also have the option to snooze the notifications on the lock screen directly without unlocking the phone to access the notification panel.

quickly snooze notifications in Android 12 customize snoozing duration for individual notifications

How to customize snoozing period for individual notifications in Android 12?

As mentioned, by default, notifications will be snoozed for 1 hour in Android 12 after you tap the snooze button.

You can customize the snooze duration shorter (up to 15 mins) or longer (up to 2 hours) without leaving the notification panel.… Read the rest

Top 12 new features of Android 12 you should know

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Top 12 new features of Android 12 Android 12, as the successor of Android 11,  was publicly released on October 4, 2021, with many new features and improvements, as expected.

This guide summarizes the top 12 new features of Android 12 that most users will like (or need) to know. A concise explanation of each of these new features is provided to help users, especially those upgraded from Android 11, quickly start to use these new features.

Detailed step-by-step guides for some of these new features of Android 12 will be covered in other posts separately (and listed on the Android 12 Guides page).

Please note, a few big Android vendors (e.g., Samsung)  may implement a few of these features differently in their Android 12 releases. So, if your phone is not running the stock (or near-stock) Android 12, you may find the settings are in different locations or have different options.

If you have questions about getting the Android 12 update for your device, you may check this guide.

Here is our list of the top 12 new features of Android 12.

1. Redesigned UI: one of the most eye-catching new features of Android 12

After you update to Android 12, you will very likely be surprised by the huge digital clock on the lock screen.

This is just an example of dramatic changes in the redesigned UI (user interface).

Based on Google, the redesigned UI in Android 12 lets users feel more comfortable. For example, you will see more space in the notification panel. The quick settings panel is no longer just icons: the name and current status (if applicable) are also shown.

The redesigned UI in Android 12 actually changed the entire user interface, from shapes, light and motion, to customizable system colours.

It is also a lot easier to customize the Android 12 UI.

2. Camera and microphone access indicator: the most practical new features of Android 12

Android 12 now lets you know whenever the camera or microphone is accessed by an app. So, this is an addition to the location access control introduced in Android 10 to protect your privacy.

In the status bar, you will see the camera and microphone icons when they are being accessed.

And if you don’t want any apps to access your microphone or camera, you can completely disable camera and microphone access globally in the quick settings panel in Android 12. By default, these two quick setting buttons are hidden.… Read the rest