Android 13: Everything you need to know

Android 13 is on the rise. Google released the first preview of Android 13 in February 2022. It’s about the same time as usual for Google with new versions of Android. In recent years, Google launched a few developer previews ahead of Google I/O in May, where the first beta went live.

This year, we don’t expect Android 13 to be a big change, as Android 12 is already a pretty big update for the platform. We’re expecting some minor changes to Material You and a few new features. But here’s everything you need to know about Android 13. And we’ll be updating this post throughout the summer, until we get to the final stable version of it in the fall.

When will Android 13 be available?

The final version of Android 13 will be available after August. Normally, Google will say “in Q3”, which means from July 1 to September 30. However, last year, the stable version of Android 13. Android 12 will not be released until October. So now we’re seeing the final beta starting in July, with the final release after that. This is the final release date of each major version of Android that has come out in recent years.

How many developer previews and betas will there be?

There will be two developer previews and four betas before the final release later this year. Now this may change. Google may find more problems with Android 13 and eventually roll out another beta or two. This happened in both 2020 and 2021.

Google rolls out new betas about once a month. Typically the second Wednesday of the month, while security patch updates roll out on the first Monday of the month. In recent years, we’ve also seen Google roll out updates to the beta for the month, for some major bugs that need to be fixed.

• Developer Preview 1 released on February 10, 2022
• Developer Preview 2 released on March 17, 2022
• Beta 1 released on April 26, 2022
• Beta 2 released on May 11, 2022
• Beta 2.1 released on May 26, 2022
• Beta 3 released on June 8, 2022

Which devices will be compatible with Android 13 developer preview?

Developer previews are available for the following Google Pixel devices:

• Google Pixel 4
• Google Pixel 4 XL
• Google Pixel 4a
• Google Pixel 4a 5G
• Google Pixel 5
• Google Pixel 5a
• Google Pixel 6
• Google Pixel 6 Pro

Unfortunately, that means the Pixel 3 series probably won’t get the Android 13 update. At least not officially from Google. We’ll probably see some developers create custom ROMs for the Pixel 3 to make it run on Android 13.

Which phones will run Android 13 beta?

Before the first beta, we knew which Pixel phones would get it, but it’s unlikely which third-party phones will have access to the update. Last year, smartphones from ASUS, OnePlus, OPPO, TCL, Vivo, Xiaomi, ZTE, Sharp, Tecno and Realme were compatible with Android 12 beta.

Here’s a list of (so far) devices that will be compatible with the Android 13 beta.

• Google Pixel 4
• Google Pixel 4 XL
• Google Pixel 4a
• Google Pixel 4a 5G
• Google Pixel 5
• Google Pixel 5a
• Google Pixel 6
• Google Pixel 6 Pro

What dessert name does Android 13 have?

Although Google no longer publishes dessert names for new versions of Android, they are still used internally. Android 13 will use the letter T for its dessert, and according to some code found in the developer preview, it looks like Android 13 will be called Tiramisu internally.

What is Tiramisu? It is an Italian dessert consisting of layers of sponge cake soaked in coffee and brandy or liqueur with powdered chocolate and mascarpone cheese.

But this will never be confirmed as Google has stopped making the dessert names public. And that could be because Android 10 is Q and there aren’t really any desserts that start with that letter.

What features and changes are there in Android 13?

So far, we only have two developer previews, which haven’t shown many features yet. That’s pretty common for Google. It wants to keep most of the new features for Google I/O, where it will announce the first beta for Android 13. But we know some features are coming to Android 13.

Material that elevates you

With Android 12 last year, Google announced Material You. This is a new theme engine for Android that will change the theme of your phone based on your wallpaper. With Android 12, colors are quite limited. But with Android 13 we are getting even more sounds for Material You.

According to the leak from Android 13, we see that Google is working on some more dynamic theme styles. Including:

• Tonal Spot: This will be the default Material You dynamic theme.
• Exalted: The theme is more vivid and colorful.
• Emotion: This will add even more colors that are not in the background along with the extracted colors.
• Spiritz: A bit more muted with a bit of gray

New notice rights

Privacy and permissions have been a big part of every Android release over the past few years, and it’s getting a few more changes with Android 13. This year, Google is rolling out a new Notifications permission. And it is exactly what it sounds like.

There is a new “POST_NOTIFICATIONS” feature in Android 13. And it does exactly what you think. Now, the app must ask for your permission to send you notifications. This may sound a bit tedious, but it means you can easily choose which apps you receive notifications from. Like you probably don’t need notice from Google Maps about posting photos and rating your place. This also means you can choose how notifications are sent to you per app, on first install. Like they should be preferred? Or silence?

The bad news is that this is an API request, so what does that mean? That means Google won’t enforce it right away. Google won’t enforce it until mid to late 2023 at the earliest.

Killer in the specter process

This is a feature that was actually introduced last year with Android 12. But it will likely become a toggle in Quick Settings with Android 13.

So what is Phantom Process Killer? Yes, it sounds like what it sounds like. It’s basically an undercover cop that can keep tabs on all apps running in the background and only allow a total of up to 32 forked subprocesses to run in the background. So it limits the number of things an app can do when it’s not in the foreground. This will prevent background apps from rogue and drain your battery a lot sooner.

New and improved volume selector

There’s a new volume selector, which looks to be coming in Android 13. It improves on this menu for the first time since it was introduced in Android 10 in 2019.

The new menu features large volume sliders with oval edges that can control the volume of the device. A disconnected device will appear as grayed out. There is also a check mark that will appear on the device on which you are adjusting the volume. Here is a screenshot of what it looks like.

And many more features will be available

As mentioned, these features mostly come from leaks and the first few developer previews, which usually don’t show much change. Major changes are saved for the first beta, which is usually announced at Google I/O. It is expected to happen May 11-12 this year. So we expect to see more changes announced after that, along with the launch of the first beta. But let’s settle for expectations here, we don’t expect this to be a major update. Visually, Android 12 is a huge update, so this year will mainly tweak those changes and perfect them.

How to download Android 13?

You can download the original image or upload the OTA image to your Pixel device. The factory image is about 2.4GB in size, while the OTA image is around 2GB in size. Both are quite large and the OTA image will be easier to install, but it might be a better idea to flash the entire original image, that way older apps and files on your phone don’t mess up. installation process disorder.

We have a guide on how to update to Android 13 here.

If you don’t want to flash the original image or get the OTA, you can wait for the Beta. You’ll be able to enroll your Pixel in beta and receive an OTA update to make the switch to Android 13. Much easier, but that won’t happen until Google I/O on May 11.