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Android 12 release date: When can you expect it on your phone?
Google officially rolled out the stable build of Android 12 to AOSP on October 4, 2021. However, the official Android 12 release date for Pixel smartphones was Tuesday, October 19, 2021. Google announced the rollout in a blog post alongside the launch of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.
If you own a Google Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, or Pixel 5a, your smartphone can download the official, stable version of Android 12. To do so, go to Settings > System > System update. If you’re not interested in waiting for the OTA to land on your device, you can follow these instructions to install Android 12 manually.
Keep in mind, however, that Android 13 is now available, so you should skip right to that if you are still on Android 11.
Android 12 release date: The timeline
Above, you’ll see the originally announced timeline from Google. Below, we have the actual dates that happened, and they stick relatively well with Google’s outline. Check out the official Android 12 release dates for each build:
- February 18, 2021: Android 12 Developer Preview 1
- March 3, 2021: Android 12 Developer Preview 1.1
- March 17, 2021: Android 12 Developer Preview 2
- April 7, 2021: Android 12 Developer Preview 2.2
- April 21, 2021: Android 12 Developer Preview 3
- May 18, 2021: Android 12 Beta 1
- June 9, 2021: Android 12 Beta 2
- June 23. 2021: Android 12 Beta 2.1
- July 14, 2021: Android 12 Beta 3
- July 26, 2021: Android 12 Beta 3.1
- August 11, 2021: Android 12 Beta 4
- August 25, 2021: Android 12 Beta 4.1
- September 8, 2021: Android 12 Beta 5
- October 4, 2021: Android 12 AOSP
- October 19, 2021: Android 12 stable
If you own a non-Google phone, you will need to wait until the company that makes your smartphone rolls out the Android 12 update for your specific phone model. Most major manufacturers — including Samsung, OnePlus, Sony, and more — have already rolled out Android 12 to at least some of their phones. For more information, check out our roundup.