Monet: Android 12 Wallpaper based Theming System Leaked

Android 12 developer preview was released a few days back enabling developers to get a sneak peek into it. Although it doesn’t look anywhere near to those leaks, it has got that new vibe and a little mystery added to it. The leaks that we saw earlier in all those tech blogs showcased a revamped UI was missed totally. However, some new features that were showcased in blogs like XDA were seen in the new DP1. Although It looks like a carbon copy of Android 11, Android 12 DP1 showcased some minor updates adding to it.

As its an initial version, we might not get to see what’s new Google has been working on until it reaches a certain stage. Meanwhile, developers like @kdrag0n have already dismantled the code and exploring the new changes inside of it. According to him, Google has been working on a new feature codenamed “Monet”. It can change the colours of the UI according to the wallpaper set on the screen. This cool looking feature was revealed by him through his Twitter handle given below.

I’ve managed to get the new wallpaper-based theming system, Monet, working on Android 12 DP1. Here are some examples of predominantly purple and orange wallpapers: pic.twitter.com/jXHvWq7K81
— kdrag0n (@kdrag0n) February 20, 2021

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Monet: Android 12’s New Feature

According to him, this alleged feature can change the whole UI of the app based on the colour of the wallpaper set on the device. This enhanced theming system takes the foundations of the RRO and OMS APIs introduced in previous versions of Android. It also can combine them with Android’s default colour Palette and WallpaperColors APIs to create a custom theme instantly to match the current wallpaper. According to the developer, this feature was present in the DP1 build in a non-working state. He somehow managed to enable it through a system property which got failed as well. However, after doing some reverse engineering and tweaking some stuff, it went to a working state. Here are some results of it.

Mont-Android12 — Credit: kdrag0n (Twitter)

kdrag0n, who is well-known for developing the ProtonAOSP ROM for Pixel devices has uploaded these image to his Twitter account. That’s how we got our first look at Monet, a codenamed feature developing by Google for its next release- Android 12. Monet, not only can change the UI accent, but it can also tweak the icon colours on the notification center and settings panel.

Google Might’ve Got Inspired by Claude Monet

According to the source code, this features was codenamed Monet by Google. The inspiration for this system was not officially revealed yet. Google might’ve drawn inspirations from Claude Monet’s work to introduce this feature. Claude Monet was a French painter who is well known for impressionism. His paintings are well-known for vivid colours, surreal backgrounds and reflections.

Although this was a wild guess, the codename “Monet” made us believe in it. Android 12 was recently released to the public as developer preview 1. However, the official release was not confirmed yet. The whole project was given a codename as “Snow Cone”. This might be the new name of Android 12 as well. You can see more details about the developer preview here.