John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 05.12.2022 06:May AM EDT

Oppo Find N Becomes First Foldable Phone To Run Android 13 — But There's a Catch

Oppo's first foldable flagship smartphone will also be the first to run Android 13.

According to a report from 9to5Google, the Oppo Find N can now be used to run Google's Android 13, which enhanced its predecessor's improvements for bigger screens, especially for foldable phones.

However, running the new Android operating system comes with a catch.

Oppo Find N Android 13 Capability Details

According to 9to5Google's report, Google recently released a preview of Android 13 for Oppo's Find N Foldable Phone, which is worth noting as this is the first time an Android 13 build is made available for a foldable smartphone.

However, there is an annoying prerequisite to experiencing the Android 13 preview: It can only be experienced by "certified" developers in China, where the Find N is sold. Although the process of being "certified" as a developer isn't known, you can download the beta at Oppo's official website if you do meet the qualifications.

Fortunately, even that twist has a twist. The Android 13 preview Chinese "certified" developers can experience will be similar to the one available on Oppo's Find X5 Pro. The twist here is that while the Find N is only available in China, the Find X5 Pro is available worldwide along with the Android 13 preview in question, per XDA Developers.

You can order your own Oppo Find X5 pro through Amazon and Ali Express, per GSMArena. However, the Find X5 Pro unit that Amazon's selling is the 256GB with 12GB of RAM variant, while AliExpress' unit is the 256GB with 8GB of RAM variant.

Android 13 Details

Google's Android 13 is the latest update on AndroidOS. It builds on Android 12L's enhancements for bigger screens, especially for foldable phones like the Oppo Find N and Find X5 Pro.

According to The Verge, the latest update to the operating system focuses more on aesthetics and improvements to its security features.

On the aesthetics side, Google made Material You color schemes available as preset themes to be used on third-party app icons, which seems to be "a missing part" for Google in the last Android update release, per Google Vice President of Product Management Sameer Samat.

"It felt like everything in the system UI got that nice Material You treatment except the icons," Samat said. "For us, it always felt like unfinished business."

Meanwhile, the media player and its controls will receive a similar Material You-Style overhaul that allows it to extract colors from the album art of the song being played and display them while it is playing.

On the other hand, Android 13 also includes new security features, such as a dedicated Privacy and Security menu. It will also include restrictions on the personal data and phone features apps can use by default.

The new operating system will also come with improvements to device interconnectivity with other devices, with Google announcing that it is planning on adding fast-pairing support for the Matter smart home standard to make adding an Android phone to supported smart home devices quick and easy.

Android 13 will also have support for the new power-efficient Bluetooth LE Audio standard in the probable future.