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Android 12 is coming! Are you ready? Beta1 available now.

The Workpath platform development team has been working hard over many months to update the core of our device platform to conform to API version 31 (commonly known as Android 12).
Having concluded internal testing and a limited-release beta (pre-Beta), we are now ready to share our work with the entire app developer community for your evaluation and feedback (Beta1) and most importantly to give you time to adapt your apps, if necessary, prior to its official release.

Here are some tips for making sure your apps are “Android 12 ready”:

• Review the API changes introduced between Android 10 and Android 12, to identify any deprecated APIs you might be using:
  • Android 10 to 11
    • https://developer.android.com/about/versions/11
    • https://developer.android.com/sdk/api_diff/30/changes.html
  • Android 11 to 12
    • https://developer.android.com/about/versions/12
    • https://developer.android.com/sdk/api_diff/31/changes.html
• Also Please note:
  • Platform Version has increased to 31.7 (To target Platform Version 31.7, download the Beta HPKTool)
  • Android log file name has changed from ramdisk/dumpstate.log to anr/anr_dumpstate.log)
  • The soft keyboard keyboard is slightly smaller on 8-inch screens
  • A soft “Home” button has been added for devices without a hard “Home” button
• Known issues (The platform team is working to address these issues before final release.)
  • On older products, the system may consume too many network connections resulting in network timeouts or connection errors
  • Intermittent DNS resolution failures
  • Turning off hardware acceleration may result in degraded performance and UI anomalies. A solution is to remove any android:hardwareAccelerated="false" attribute from the Android manifest.

Download the Android 12 Beta1 firmware from the Download page now and take it for a test drive with your app.

Please follow these steps:

1. Uninstall all apps and remove the printer from HP Command Center (if the printer had been previously added)
2. Perform a format disk operation
3. Install the Android 12 Beta1 firmware from a USB thumb drive
4. Configure the printer’s web proxy (if necessary)
5. Register the printer with HP Web Services (if necessary)
6. Enable LDB mode
7. Install your app using the HPKTool
8. Push your app’s App Attestation debug credentials using the HPKTool (if necessary)
9. Run your app, noting all anomalies encountered

For any anomalies found, first check your usage of the APIs. In our testing so far, most of the anomalies were actually due to the app’s incorrect use of the APIs or reliance on deprecated APIs.
If a defect in the Workpath Platform is proven or even strongly suspected, please report it through the Workpath SDK support forum. Indicate in your post that you are using the Android 12 Beta1 firmware image.

When your Android 12 Beta1 testing has concluded and any app adjustments have been made, please:

1. Perform a format disk operation
2. Install the latest Public Release Firmware Image from a USB thumb drive
3. Configure the printer’s web proxy (if necessary)
4. Register the printer with HP Web Services (if necessary)
5. Delete any copies of the Android 12 Beta1 firmware/tools you may have downloaded