Android 12 Snow Cone Release Date Rumors Start This Week

This week the first release of Android 12 is rumored to take place. This first release is expected to be called the Android 12 Developer Preview. The first Android 12 Developer Preview release will likely be relegated to Google Pixel smartphones of several sorts. If you own one of the last several Google Pixel smartphones, you'll be in business.

This week a tip from XDA Developers suggests that Google is calling Android 12 "Snow Cone" internally. That doesn't mean it'll definitely be called Android Snow Cone in the public realm, but you never know!

Meanwhile, today's insider tip suggests that the Google Pixel line will get its first look at Android 12 Developer Preview software on the 17th. That's February 17, 2021, our current expectation for most-likely release date for Android 12 Developer Preview release number one.

With Android 12 we're expecting a slightly adjusted release schedule VS what we've seen in past years. COVID-19 and the pandemic in which we're all currently living turned the standard schedule for release previews and betas on its head. We're expecting Google to attempt to get back to some form of normalcy here in 2021 with a first "Android 12 Beta" starting in May or June of 2021.

If all goes according to plan, we'll see the nearly-ready iteration of Android 12 with just-before-public release in July or August of 2021. Full stable Android 12 will likely be released with whatever new Google Pixel smartphone Google reveals later this year. It's entirely possible we'll have a new Google Pixel smartphone and a full standard Android 12 release in August or September of 2021.

If you own a Google Pixel 3, 3XL, or newer, you can expect that Google will deliver Android 12 to your device. This includes the Developer Preview lineup, Beta builds, and the final public build later this year. Cross your fingers we'll get the whole bunch as early (and as complete and bugless) as possible.