Is it really surprising that pre-release Android versions aren't yet perfect? Samsung surprised many by releasing its first One UI 4 beta on Android 12. This was well ahead of Google's stable code release. We don't expect Pixel phones to receive stable Android 12 before October at the latest. The Galaxy S21 owners have an early version of Android 12 that is... well, a mess. The current One UI 4 build has bugs and performance issues that are more severe than the previous betas from Samsung, which have all been stable. If you are looking to test Android 12 on Samsung's top Android phones, it is worth waiting for a stable build. VPN Deals: Monthly plans starting at $16 & More, a lifetime license for $16 and monthly plans starting at $1. This pattern is also evident in the Android 12 beta for Pixel phones. Even the beta 5 version, there were still some serious bugs. Even that beta 5 build still has some obvious issues for users, such as the broken "at-a glance" widget or Bluetooth performance bugs. Android watchers have made a joke out of the broken visuals in betas 3-4 around the Google search bar.
Source: Ara Wagoner / Android Central
This is a vast improvement over Android 11 and Android 10 which were almost daily-driver-ready at the time of their July betas. By August, the beta program builds were almost ready for release, with eventual over-the air updates to stabilize usually only weighing in at a few megabytes. Android 10 and Android 11 were both daily-driver-ready in July or August. Android 12 isn’t like other Android updates. It brings the biggest UI overhaul to Pixel phones since the introduction Material Design in 2014. Material You touches every aspect of the interface on Pixel phones, and Google must also update its apps to conform to the new design language. Google is playing with the System UI more than it did when it went from Android 9 to Android 10 this year. It stands to reason that users will experience more bugs and more changes. The beta program has been around for longer than any Android version and Google has not followed the guidelines in the latest preview build. Beta 5 is meant to be a "release Candidate," which means that it's ready for shipping, with some final testing. This build comes with a section on "known issues" in its release notes. It also has the aforementioned UI bugs.
Source: Nick Sutrich / Android Central
We shouldn't be surprised, given the stability issues of Android 12 on Pixel phones, that early builds for One UI based on it are also imperfect. Anshel Saga, senior analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy told Android Central that we shouldn't go too far in reading between the lines. Sag stated, "I think it is fine if they drop betas early. Maybe it will help them figure bugs out sooner and not need to fix them at launch." "I believe that betas can sometimes be too much for some people. We need to remember that betas exist to fix bugs. This is especially true for Android users who often view the beta program as a way to test out new features before the rest of the world. They don't always realize why they aren't available. The tradeoff between cool new features early and possible side effects on daily usability is always present, especially if beta software is installed on your primary or only device.
Source: Nick Sutrich / Android Central
