Native scrolling screenshots are now available with the latest Android 12 beta update, allowing the user to capture more than one screen’s worth of data at the same time. While the ability to take scrolling screenshots was already available on other OEM devices, including those from Samsung, the experience can often be unreliable. An issue that’s less likely with Google’s version.
Screenshots have been around since the first iPhone, with Android adopting the feature not long after. It can be an extremely useful feature if a user wants to capture information and save it for later. With the progress in mobile phone technology over the years, the use of screenshots has evolved too. For example, copying and pasting text from a screenshot when using a feature like Google Lens. Screenshots do tend to hit a major roadblock, however, when the information the user wants to capture is more than one screen’s worth. In this case, the user would need to take one screenshot then scroll and take another. Not only does this consume more time, but it can also be inconvenient when sharing with others. Enter scrolling screenshots.
As Google has finally added the feature with Android 12 Beta 3, users running the latest version can take screenshots of more information than they’d normally be able to. As to be expected with a beta, there are some caveats. For example, only select apps are able to use the feature right now. According to 9to5 Google, the list of supported apps is mostly limited to apps like Settings and Messages. While Google Chrome would be an app many might expect to be supported, the feature currently appears to be reliant on “standard View-based UI” support, and that excludes apps like Chrome for the time being.
How Andorid 12’s Scrolling Screenshots Work
![Android 12: How To Take Scrolling Screenshots & How Google’s Version Compares](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Android-12-Beta-3-Scrolling-Screenshots.jpg)
In order to activate the feature, the user will need to take a screenshot like normal. Android will then prompt the user to “Capture More,” suggesting a scrolling screenshot. Once selected, Android will take all of the app’s information, accessible via scrolling, and display it for the user to crop to whatever dimension they want. While Samsung devices already have this feature, the UI takes multiple images when taking a scrolling screenshot. Essentially stitching things together and possibly resulting in an image that isn’t quite as expected. In contrast, Google’s version of scrolling screenshots allows the user to get all of the included information in one take.
While not entirely new, scrolling screenshots is likely to prove to be a useful addition for those upgrading to Android 12. Although it is still currently limited in terms of app support, that’s likely to be something that improves over time. After all, this is only a beta release of Android 12, with the full and consumer-ready version expected to become available later in the year.