It's 2022 and after a visual overhaul last year with Android 12, Google is finally refining its OS' features and stability with Android 13. The company is building around core themes of privacy and security, developer productivity, as well as adding support for tablet and large screens. Today, the first public beta of Android 13 is finally out and can be downloaded on compatible Pixel devices.
What's new? Not a lot, really, on the surface. Unlike Android 12, Android 13 is more developer-focused. There are some privacy features like the new notification permission and photo picker. There are also new APIs that will allow developers to build things like themed app icons (which are still in beta since the release of Android 12), quick settings tile placement, per-app language support, Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio, and support for MIDI 2.0 over USB.
New privacy features include more granular access to media files, improved audio routing APIs and more. Developers can also test their apps for compatibility with Android 13 and review behavior changes.
To get Android 13 Beta 1 on your device, you can enroll your supported Pixel device here. Google will share more about Android 13 at its upcoming Google I/O event on May 11-12, 2022.
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