Android 13: Everything we know so far about Google’s next mobile OS
Google has released Android 13’s first developer preview. The announcement comes even as Android 12 is yet to make its way on many phones, including some flagship ones.
The very first preview of the new Android OS was released earlier today for developers. Here’s all you need to know about it.
Android 13 developer preview: What is it?
Ahead of a full stable update, Google releases developer previews for the Android operating system. These are intended for app developers, who can then use the preview builds to design and modify their own apps according to the guidelines of the new update.
Developer previews can be unstable and are not to be confused with beta builds, which are much more stable in comparison. What this means is that a developer build typically has a lot more issues or bugs, and will likely come with a number of software problems. These will get fixed along with way. But most who regular users, who likely have one phone as their primary device should wait for the stable update.
Android 13: What’s new?
Android 13’s new features include upgraded theming options and privacy features. Right now, it doesn’t seem like the new update will feature a lot of visual changes given Android 12 was a big visual update in itself. However, the Material You design is now being expanded to all apps and is no longer limited to just Google’s own apps. In future, users will be able to rely on the themed icon feature from Android 12 for all apps, provided the developer has designed an icon that supports the monochromatic colours. Google also said that it is working with other manufacturers to release the feature more widely.
Android 13 also brings some changes to how the system handles various permissions and security. There is a new photo picker that will let users share photos and videos with an individual app without the app needing full access to the device’s storage. This feature is not going to be exclusive to Android 13 and Google plans on bringing it to all phones running Android 11 and up later.
There are a lot of backend changes too. This includes better multi-language support and a new Wi-Fi permission that allows apps to discover and connect to Wi-Fi- points without the need for location permissions.
Google is set to release more Android 13 developer previews over February and March and will start releasing beta releases in April. A stable update is expected around June or July this year, although it could take a lot longer for OEMs to bring Android 13 to their phones, many of which are still struggling to launch a stable update of Android 12 for devices.
Supported devices and how to install
The Android 13 developer preview 1 is currently available for select Pixel series phones only. These are the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel 5, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 4a, Pixel 4 XL, and the Pixel 4. Google Pixel 3 devices are no longer supported with the latest Android version. Android 12 will be the last update for them.
Google has provided the Android 13 system images for the compatible devices that you can install on to the phone. You can find these images at ‘developer.android.com/about/versions/13/download’ (without the quotes). The page also has detailed installation instructions for all interested users. Users can either manually install the image on their phone or use the Android Flash tool for the same.