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Finally, after three developer previews and four beta versions, Android TV 12 is now available for use. It brings major changes to your Android TV. The new features in Android 12 give you increased performance, functionality, and workability. The features include 4K UI elements, privacy indicators, refresh rate switching, minor UI improvements, and many more. Further, Android TV 12 also offers a lot of customization settings to improve the experience and compatibility on TV devices. Let’s look at the full list of new features.
Features of Android TV 12
This section includes the complete list of features that you get from Android TV 12. These features are applicable on Android TV-based smart TVs and set-top boxes.
- Microphone/Camera access toggle
- 4K rendering
- New playlist UI for YouTube
- HDMI-CEC 2.0 controls
- Background Blur
- Robust API
- Refresh rate switching
- Accessibility improvements
- Privacy indicators
- New boot animation
Microphone/Camera Access Toggle
Android TV users can disable the mic and camera directly from the Settings menu with Android TV 12. You will find Camera Access under the Device Preferences option. The option is set to on by default. In case you don’t want to permit the apps to access the TV’s mic and camera, you can disable the option easily. This is one of the useful features that come with the new Android TV OS.

4K Rendering
Another best feature that Android TV 12 includes is 4K rendering capability. This feature makes your smart TVs more compatible with Android TV OS. The previous Android TV OSs let you watch 4K content. With the new OS, the TV’s UI is rendered in 4K, which makes the UI looks crisper. With that, the text on UI looks sharper on the TV’s screen and thus gives you the best visual experience.

New Playlist UI for YouTube
The new OS on Android TV brings you a standalone playlist UI for YouTube. With this feature, you get to see a list of videos on the right side of the screen. On the left side of the screen, you get three options such as Play All, Loop, and Save to Library. With these options, you can play all the videos, loop the entire playlist, and save any video to watch later. You can use YouTube on Android TV, like using the app on PC and mobiles.

HDMI-CEC 2.0 Controls
Android TV 12 support for HDMI CEC 2.0. With this, you get better interoperability among HDMI devices. HDMI CEC 2.0 works efficiently with other devices. It also gives improvements to remote control passthrough. You should set the configuration to HDMI CEC 2.0 on your TV to support the control.

Background Blur
The next amazing feature that Android TV 12 includes is background blurring. This feature helps the users differentiate between various UI layers and aid accessibility. Further, it lets you get an improved surfing experience while browsing with browsers. It works with all the apps on Android TV.

Robust API
Robust API on Android TV 12 gives you better display support. It integrates with HDMI 2.0 protocol to offer to give more accurate API on Android TV. With this feature, your Android TV will get the capability of HDR, Dolby Atmos, and high refresh rates.
Refresh Rate Switching
On the new TV OS, you will find an option called Match content frame rate under the Display & Sound settings. If you enable this feature, the TV’s display will automatically change its refresh rate based on the content on the screen. With that feature enabled, all content is played in the optimal frame rate with no hitches. In case you don’t want this feature, you can disable it from the settings.

Accessibility Improvements
Accessibility settings let you control font sizes on your Android TV. You can make changes as per your wish. If you have elderly people at home, you can make the font size big to make them read the word easily on the TV. Further, you also get more specific permission controls. With this feature, you get more options when an app is asking for permission. The options are While using the app, Only this time, Don’t allow, and Deny and don’t ask again.

Privacy Indicators
One of the most useful features that you get from Android 12 is the privacy indicators. This feature alerts you whenever the mic and camera are turned on while using apps and services on the TV. You get to see the indicator light on the top right of the TV. With that light, you can come to know that your activities are safe online and no one can track your activities. Even if they do, you can find it easily.

New Boot Animation
The new OS gives you new boot animation. When you restart your TV after installing the new OS, you will see a new animation.

Frequently Asked Questions
To install Android TV 12 on your Android TV, get the ADT-3 Developer kid for Android TV. Download the system image and install it on your ADT-3 device on your TV.
Yes, you can use Android TV 12 on Nvidia Shield.
Yes, Android 12 is available for Google TV.