Android 12 Beta And The Phones You Can Put It On
Once upon a time, pre-releases of Android's next version were available only to a limited few. Of course, Google's own Nexus phones, later Pixels, had first dibs on any development version but some big names in the Android empire also boasted that preferential treatment. Almost like a testament to Android's more open development strategy, a number of manufacturers have all but simultaneously announced the availability of Android 12 beta for some of the phones, some companies you might not have expected to just that early into a development preview in the first place.
Samsung you'd definitely expect to be one of the first considering how widespread its brand and phones are. At one point in time, LG was also high on the list because of close ties with Google, at least back when it still made smartphones. Sony and Motorola could be on that list, too, since they shipped mostly vanilla Android.
Some wouldn't expect some brands from China to be some of the first to jump on the Android 12 beta train but that is how Android development is these days. Major companies like Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, and OnePlus have now announced some of the phones that can join the Android 12 Beta developer preview and have images that can be directly downloaded and installed on those devices.
But wait, there's more! Other manufacturers have also joined the party to give developers and power users even more chances to get a taste of what's to come. Here's the full list of which manufacturers and which phones so far have signed up to be part of that beta preview:
• Xiaomi Mi 11, M11 Ultra, Mi 11i, Mi 11X Pro
It is definitely a good trend that phone makers are jumping in early and giving more developers the opportunity to test pre-release versions of Android. It should be noted that although these are mostly open to the public, it's still considered a beta preview primarily intended for developers. End users, even advanced ones, are advised to proceed with caution as the installation process mostly requires wiping the device clean.