Although Windows for smartphones may be extinct or even not in minds of consumers, Microsoft has exploited Android 12L’s sophisticated theming system to make the user experience resemble Windows 11’s Fluent UI. The Microsoft Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2 will also receive this as a shared upgrade.
Surface Duo and Duo 2 Android 12L upgrade details
The Microsoft launcher’s notification shade, Settings page, and activity feed have all been updated to resemble their Windows counterparts. In other words, the UI controls, colours, and icons have all been unified with the Windows style. Blur is another element of the Windows design language that is present in many parts of the interface.
The new upgrade offers similar accent colour options in addition to the wallpapers that are already available on Windows to complete the look:
The Surface Slim Pen 2, which is compatible with the Duo 2, now provides features similar to those found on Surface PCs. By tapping the button on top, you may expose a quick start bar that has shortcuts to pertinent programmes.
Additionally, Microsoft Teams received some updates. You may now transfer a Teams meeting using the Time widget, and performance and battery life were enhanced by outsourcing the labor-intensive tasks to hardware acceleration.
You may now add particular chats to your home screen using the new conversations widgets. OneDrive photographs are displayed in yet another new widget.
The status bar indicators for the camera and microphone are now included, along with a privacy tracker that keeps a log of the apps that have accessed your location or used the camera or microphone in the previous 24 hours. All the typical Android 12L improvements are also included.
Surface Duo users will need to download 2.6GB, compared to 3.2GB for Duo 2 users, in order to install Android 12L. Furthermore, the October security patch is included in the updates. To see whether the progressive rollout has reached your unit, go to System > System Update.
