With the official release of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, so came that of Android 12/Snow Cone. The new OS brought about many changes, but the most notable one is, of course, the UI design overhaul.
One element that saw the biggest (pun intended) transformation is the Quick Settings menu. The buttons now take much more screen real estate, presumably done to make them more accessible.
The new look of the Quick Settings menu proved to be polarizing for Android users, with some of the changes resulting in hot discussions online. One such example is the combination of the Wi-Fi and Data toggles. The complaints about it seem to have gained enough attention for Google to step in and defend its decision in a community post.
What is the issue?
Traditionally, to toggle either of the two internet options, you just had to swipe down to get into the Quick Settings menu and tap on the corresponding icon. Now, with Android 12, there is a second step of first tapping on the new Internet Panel and then having the ability to toggle off/on either option.
From our user studies, we found that the majority of users turn off Wi-Fi in order to force their phone to connect to cellular. This is usually done in response to a poor Wi-Fi connection and the lack of an alternative way to get the phone to explicitly connect to the user’s carrier. Users who turn off Wi-Fi will often forget to turn Wi-Fi back on again, resulting in possible excess mobile data usage.
Then, the explanation goes on to say that with this change users, who have Wi-Fi connection issues can now “switch over to using their carrier with two quick taps.” Personally, I don’t see how this explanation serves to validate the decision to make it a “two quick taps” when it can be just a “quick tap”.
Nevertheless, Google also claims that during user research studies, long-time Android users acknowledged the change took time to get used to. However, with time the new Internet Panel felt more intuitive and straightforward when solving “their Wi-Fi connectivity issues, while reducing user error and unintended consequences.
To finish things up on a more positive note, Google at least says it plans to make the Internet Panel accessible from the Lock Screen. It is expected that this, alongside other new features, will arrive with the next Pixel Feature Drop, possibly sometime in December.
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