Android 10 for HTC U12 Plus : Rumour Roundup

Android 10 for HTC U12 Plus : Rumour Roundup

The U12 Plus is a flagship from HTC, arrived in June 2018. The flagship is powered by Snapdragon 845 mobile platform and runs on Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. The U12 received the Android 9 Pie update in Q3 of 2018. The next major update for this flagship is Android 10.

The Android 10 is the tenth major update from Google, came out of beta stage on September 3rd. The Search giant started the beta program in March 2019 and continued upto August to rollout six betas for Pixel series. Some partner devices like Nokia 8.1, Xperia XZ3, LG G8 also got the Beta. However, HTC didn’t participate in the beta program and so no beta rollout for U12.

Android 10 Release dates for HTC U12

HTC has changed a lot in the last few years and software upgrades became really laggy and by the time a new android updates comes to HTC users, Google is about to release the next update. However, recently things are getting better with Project Treble and new leadership of HTC.

So we expect the early rollout of Android 10 for HTC U12 Plus may begin in Taiwan somewhere in Q1 of 2020 and the rollout may spread to the US and Europe in late-Q1 of 2020. The official rollout dates will be posted here, as soon as HTC has announced them.

Also Read : Android 10 update released for LG G8, coming soon for G7.

Android 10 : New Features

The Android 10 update is a major update in Android history and came with tons of new features and refinements. The main key features of this update include System-wide dark theme, Smart Reply, Full Gesture navigation, New Emoji collection, native support for Desktop mode, support for 5G and TLS 1.3 and so on. Now we will dive deep into the Android 10 features which are coming for HTC 10.

Also Read : Android 10 update released for Xperia XZ2 series, Exclusive Features and many more

System-wide Dark theme

It is one of the remarkable features of the tenth iteration of Android. Google rolled out some dark theme elements like Quick Settings toggles, Navbar etc in the Android 9 Pie update and now full dark theme arrived. The dark mode also kicks off automatically in third-party apps too, so users don’t have to manually enable it in third-party apps. If an app doesn’t come with support for Dark mode, android automatically apply dark mode colors using machine learning.

Enabling the dark mode can done by turning on battery saver or head to Settings > Display > Theme. The dark theme not only reduce battery drain but also decrease eye strain .

Full Gesture navigation

The Android 10 arrived with more Gestures, so that users can navigate throughout Android with gestures only, thus there is no need for Navigation bar, Google removed it. So users will get more real estate making Multi-tasking, watching videos, playing games more fun. However, if the user don’t like the new Gesture navigation, he can revert back to old navigation styles with back and overview buttons along with home button by going into the navigation section of Settings menu.

Users can even adjust the Back gesture sensitivity in Android 10. High Back sensitivity conflicts with other gestures at the edges of screen. The feature may get refined further in the upcoming Android updates.

Android 10 Smart Reply

The Tenth anniversary update came with the Smart Reply feature which is an improvement for quick replies feature, indeed. The Search giant introduced quick replies feature to send replies instantly through notifications. This time, Google added a bit of AI to suggest more relevant replies and quick actions.

The smart reply feature uses on-device machine learning, so there is no risk of transimission of data to Google servers, means no privacy issues. The feature suggest replies containing emojis to make them more natural rather than artificial. If a message arrives with location data or an address, a shortcut to launch Maps app will appear below the message in notifications, so that user can navigate to that address with single tap without any manual copying and pasting. The feature works with all messaging apps at the moment, according to reports from users.

Improved Privacy Controls

Android 10 gives more granular controls over privacy and location sharing options. HTC U12 users can head to Settings> Privacy section to configure all privacy and accessibility usage options at one place.

Here, users can tap on Accessibility usage to know which apps are using the screen, inputs and have the permissions to read messages and many more. By digging into the permission manager in privacy section, users can check which apps have permissions for microphone, location, body sensors, storage, messages and so on. Android 10 shows options consisting of allow permission to a service like location all the time or turn-off permission all the time or grant permission only when the app is running foreground.

Support for TLS 1.3

It is one of the under the hood features of Android 10, but really matters. The TLS 1.3 protocol supports zero-round trip time and also more secure than its predecessor. So in Android 10, all third party apps will connect to their servers using TLS 1.3 only, so users will get faster and smoother experience.

Android 10 Bubbles

The Tenth iteration of Android came with Bubbles feature to enhance the multi-tasking experience of users. HTC U12 users can use the Bubbles feature after updating to Android 10. The feature works mostly similar to Facebook’s chatheads feature. At the moment Bubbles works best with Google Phone app and other messaging apps, but may extend to other apps in comingdays.

The feature works in this way : when a new message arrives in Messages app a new Bubble like window appears over App icon showing the message, so that users can give reply in the window only without even opening the app. Then, the window can be minimized to the bubble. Using the feature, users can browse web or watch videos in the remaining screen while replying to messages instantly.

Focus mode and Parental Controls

The Android 10 update aims at healthy smartphone usage and prevention measures to take care of smart phone addiction in children. The Focus mode is a new component of updated Digital wellbeing app which stops all notifications temporarily, so that user can surf web or play game or watch a movie without interruptions. So user will be more focused and accomplish the things in less time.

Parental controls is another new component of Digital Wellbeing of Android 10. The users can set limits on specific app usage, screen-on time and even lock some apps for their children to reduce smart phone usage.

Dirty USB Notifications



The Tenth anniversary edition of Android came with a feature to notify users if the device’s USB got dirty or malfunctioned. The HTC U12+ users will receive notifications about USB port after updating to Android 10. Any liquid or debris in USB port should be cleaned before the notification disappears itself. The users can manually enable the USB port in the Dailog box.

Android 10 also monitors the Temperature of USB port and charging cable and issue warnings if any overheating happens. Android considers the Temperature of 60 degrees Celsius as Critical level and issue warnings and disable charging until Temperature decreases.

Battery Saver Schedule

It is one of the AI-associated features coming with the Android 10 update. Google is refining its Battery saver feature in every new android update and the tenth anniversary edition comes with many AI-associated refinements. The feature itself analyzes the user’s phone usage behaviours and charging patterns using on-device machine learning and turns-on and off the Battery saver accordingly.

To enable the Battery saver schedule, after receiving the update, HTC U12 users go into Settings > Battery > Battery Saver > Battery Saver Scheule and tap on Based on Your routine. Then the users can completely forget about Battery saver as Android itself manages the feature.

Improved Battery Status

In Android 10, the Search giant refined battery status in the Quick Settings toggles. So when the user pull down twice on the notification bar, besides battery icon, how much time the battery will last, appears. So, HTC U12 users can easily check the estimated battery lasting time, after receiving the Android 10 update.

If any user don’t notice the time in the Quick Settings, one can enable it by going into Settings > Battery and toggle on Battery percentage option.

New Emoji Collection

The Search giant brings many new emojis and refined existing ones with gender-neutral in the latest android update. According to Emojipedia’s changelog, there are 236 new emojis and 800 redesigned icons in Android 10. After installing the update, HTC U12 users can observe the new gender-neutral emojis on Google Keyboard and they can select gender specific ones by long tapping on the emoji.

The new emojis came with the update includes : Accessibility aids, more options for people holding hands, many new animal emojis. The accessibility aids include hearing aids, people in wheelchairs, sign language, mechanical arms and many more. Animal emojis include organtuan, otter, skunk, flamingo, oyster, and some new versions of guide dogs. Other interesting additions to Food emoji include Ice cube, garlic, onions, waffles, beverage box and so on.

We will update this article soon with more details about the Android 10 update for HTC U12 Plus.