In late October, Google released Android 12L, and unlike most Android updates, its focus is mostly on the devices with large screens. So most of the new features and exciting changes will be seen only on tablets, foldables, and Chromebooks. However, there are a few things that will come to normal smartphones as well. One of them is dynamic head tracking, a feature Apple recently released with iOS 15 and its latest audio products.
As part of the Android 12L update, Google already mentioned a few new features and API changes. These included features like Nearby calling for Pixel and Nest devices, a new “quick wallpaper picker” option in the AOSP Launcher, dynamic theme support in AOSP, and more. But now, a few other changes have been highlighted by developer Mishaal Rahman. In his report (Esper Blog), he highlights Google’s new Audio Spatializer API as well as hints of dynamic head tracking.
Android 12L’s Audio Spatialization Service Features
As aforementioned, the Mountain View-based software giant has implemented a new Audio Spatializer API in Android 12L. This API aims to unify all the different implementations of spatial audio support. With the new API, apps will be able to determine if the current device supports spatial audio. According to Esper Blog, Android 12L also includes support for full screen-to-head tracking. This means that if you have headphones with an in-built accelerometer and gyroscope, they will report your current head position to Android for more immersive audio.
The full screen-to-head tracking support has three head tracking modes: static, world relative, and screen relative. The static mode means that there will be no head tracking. Similarly, in the “world relative” mode, there will be no screen tracking. But the “screen relative” mode will offer full screen-to-head tracking.
