Google finally launched their developer preview for Android 13. Testers quickly noticed three interesting new features to watch out for.
The Android 13 developer preview is now available for most Google Pixel devices. Note that the update is not yet released for other smartphone units, so other Android users will have to wait a little longer.
Google says the final release might come out later this year. However, they did not elaborate on its release date.
Android 13 New Features
Sources from XDA managed to test the Android 13 developer preview. The tester emphasized that Android 13 was solidifying the "direction of design" introduced by Android 12. This means Android 13 taking advantage of pre-existing mobile programs and further enhancing its functionality.
Overall, this change should ideally create an immersive and intuitive mobile operating system (OS).
The tester specified three improvements on Android 13. The tester also said that "Android 13 at a glance is completely indistinguishable from Android 12."
First, Android 13 changed its base user interface (UI). The updated notifications appear more rounded. Android 13 also expands its quick settings functionality by adding tappable icons on the option. Lastly, media players might be happy to know about the volume slider for the mobile media player.
The second big change is the Photo Picker API. This change bears a lot of similarities to Google's document picker. In quick summary, this lets a user selectively choose photos to share with a specific app. This works opposite to the current system, where an app blatantly asks for full access to mobile storage.
Ideally, the second change will enhance the user's privacy. This would also reduce overall access that apps might have over the mobile device.
The third and last update is the smartphone's quick settings. Android 13 adds extra functionality like color corrections, one-hand mode, and QR on the quick settings option. This should save users a lot of time from manually scrolling and opening the settings interface itself.
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Other reports from 9to5Google suggest that Android 13 might add a profile switcher on the lock screen. Note that each profile added here will let users customize different apps, storage, and media content from the others. This feature is still under development, so not many details about its effectiveness are discussed.
How to Get Android 13 Beta
As previously mentioned, since Android 13 is still under development, it is prone to lag and performance issues. Users who want to download it should be prepared for system crashes. At worse, this could brick and permanently damage a device. Users are advised to load this program only on their spare smartphones.
According to Androidheadlines, Android 13 is available exclusive to Google Pixel smartphones. Owners can download the update from Google's official website. Note that users have to unlock the bootloader and enable ADB and USB debugging to install Android 13.
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