Today, Google announced a new version of Android, Android 12L, aimed at building out the Android 12 experience for larger-screened devices (via Google Developers). It is primarily aimed at tablets and foldables, but users of Chromebooks will also benefit from it.
Google has historically struggled with nailing a large-screen Android experience ever since it released and later rolled back the changes it made with Android Honeycomb. While the company has since shipped tablets running Android like the Nexus 10 and Pixel C, the experience of these have been criticized for mostly being a blown-up phone interface, a charge that still holds for tablets running unmodified Android such as the recently released Nokia T20.
Android 12L fixes all that by bringing in many features to take advantage of the larger display. Instead of a large and largely space-wasting notification center, Google will add a new dual-panel notification center on foldables and tablets. This allows users to see and interact with their notifications as well as quick settings all at a single glance. There’s a new taskbar, reminiscent of the dock or shelf you’ll find on conventional laptops, as well as iPad OS that’ll allow for fast app switching. Split-screen will see an improvement, with Google planning to also add advanced drag-and-drop functionality. It’s not as monumental an overhaul as Android 12 was, but it’ll make using Android on larger screens a better experience and provide a solid foundation for tablet makers to work with.
Android 12L goes into testing today for developers on select devices like the Lenovo P12 Pro tablet. A more widespread beta will be made available for Google Pixel phones. While Google doesn’t have any hardware of its own that could benefit from Android 12L, reports of a Pixel Fold or two have been swarming around the web, with noted leaker Evan Blass pinning the Fold at a launch prior to the end of the year. If Google was going to show off Android 12L on any device, it would be the perfect candidate.
Affinity’s new all-in-one creative app is finally coming to the iPad, nearly a year after Canva launched the redesigned desktop version for Mac and Windows. Creatives have been asking for the iPad release ever since, especially because files created in the new Affinity app cannot be opened in the older V2 iPad apps.
Affinity already has Photo, Designer, and Publisher apps on iPad, but the new release combines those tools into the same unified app that Canva launched on desktop last year.
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Apple has just launched its latest iPad mini with a notable set of upgrades, including an OLED screen, improved speakers, and a more resilient build. It also gets a new chip, and the whole package costs $200 more than its predecessor. But if you look closely at Apple’s online store, you’ll realize that $699 isn’t enough to get you the most powerful version of the A20 Pro chip inside this tablet. In fact, even if you pay $800 for the 256GB model, you still won’t get the beefiest variant. Only when you jump to the 512GB trim, which costs an absurd $999, do you get the most powerful flavor of the A20 Pro.
The $999 model gets more than extra storage