On phones with Android 12, you can use up to three separate versions of an app. They are in fact app clones. You can just use these different versions of a single app in the same launcher and they can be used interchangeably in recent apps.
Android 12 has been proposed this month, but the Android version still reveals new secrets. For example, we recently learned more about a system of performance classes where apps can offer a customized experience based on the specifications of your smartphone. This time it was discovered that you can use up to three different versions of a single app independently of each other. The feature was discovered by Mishaal Rahman in the Android 12 Compatibility Definition document.
This information shows that you can clone the app that you use with your Google account next to you so that you can get started with that app with other settings or another account. You will also use that second instance of an app in the same launcher and you can just find both instances next to each other in recent apps. It is not yet clear exactly what that will look like. If you also add the separate work profile of Android, then you can use three separate versions of an app: the app of your regular profile, its clone and the app of your work profile.
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I’ve been giving the Android 12 CDD a *very* thorough read, and I just discovered something quite interesting.
Looks like Android 12 quietly added a new profile type called “Clone.” Android seems to finally natively add app cloning support, without the weird work profile hack!
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) October 18, 2021
Optional Feature
The ability to clone apps so that you can use different settings of an app has been a feature that has been offered by some phone manufacturers for some time, but now for the first time, there is a system that is built deep into Android 12. It is an optional feature, which means that not every manufacturer adopts it.