While Android 12 is only beginning to roll out on a large scale, Android 13 is already on the way. Developers can now install it and reveal some of its new features.
The major Google I/O conference is scheduled for May 18 to June 20, 2022. This will be an opportunity for the Web giant to unveil its ambitions for the development of its future products and in particular the changes made in the next version of Android . However, there is no need to wait for spring to start drawing the outlines of Android 13. The developer version has just been delivered so that each of them can work with it and evaluate not only the bugs encountered but also the proper functioning of their own applications.
Google also takes the opportunity to detail some advances in its mobile system in a post published on the firm’s blog. We can appreciate the small aesthetic changes made to the interface but also new features concerning security, confidentiality and general ergonomics. Google also specifies that it will take over some of the features already present in Android 12L, a special version of the system adapted to tablets and smartphones with a folding screen.
What’s new in Android 13?
This new version of Android is still in its infancy. Nevertheless, it is already possible to appreciate some changes. First aesthetic changes, the firm’s Pixel smartphones will no longer be the only ones to have the Monet function which allows the color of the icons to be adapted to the chosen wallpaper. The icons of all applications (and no longer just those of Google) will be able to harmonize with the wallpaper and even benefit from a dark mode.
In addition, application developers will be able to give the user the option of adding a thumbnail himself in the shortcuts pane in order to directly access a function, without going through the system settings. Convenient. In the radius of shortcuts precisely, Google finally integrates a module allowing you to scan a QR Code without having to first launch the Camera app. It was time.
In terms of ergonomics, Google makes it easier to use Android and the applications installed for users who work in several languages. Thus, a launched application may be displayed in a language different from that retained for the system.
Sharing your smartphone occasionally with another user will also be easier. A new menu will allow you to add a guest who will obviously not have access to your personal data and files. It will not be necessary to have a Google account installed on the device to take advantage of it, as is already the case currently. Above all, the owner of the mobile will be able to define the applications that the guest will be able to use.
Finally, Google also strengthens the security of personal data. With Android 13, it will be possible to authorize an application to access a selection of multimedia files saved on the device and not all the photos and videos stored. A function that should subsequently be deployed in the earlier versions of Android (from Android 11 but with the exception of Android Go).
What is the release date of Android 13?
If Google remains tight-lipped on the release date of the final version of its mobile system, it nevertheless publishes the expected roadmap. Preview (development) versions should follow one another until April 2022 before Android 13 goes into beta. Stable releases should start rolling out in June, after the Google I/O conference, and continue to be polished until the end of August. For a few years now, the final versions of Android have been released between mid-August and mid-September, with the exception of Android 12, the development of which was slowed down by the Covid-19 pandemic and which was released on October 4, 2021. If the pace of work returns to a normal level, we can therefore expect to see Android 13 arrive at the start of the 2022 school year.
Which devices will be able to benefit from Android 13?
The pace of deployment of new versions of Android has always been very slow. We can nevertheless expect that the brand’s Pixel smartphones will, as usual, be the first to be served for the update. The current development version offered by Google is also, for the moment, only available for the Pixel 4, 4XL, 4a, 4a 5G, 5, 5a 5G, 6 and 6 Pro. In addition, we also imagine that major manufacturers like Samsung are already working on adapting Android 13. The Korean indicated last year that its S, Z, Note, A, XCover and Tab range devices released since 2019 would benefit from four years of security updates. Other manufacturers, such as Xiaomi and Oppo will obviously integrate Android 13 with their respective overlays in the new smartphones which will be released at the end of the year and in 2023. But nothing is guaranteed for older models, each manufacturer remaining free to choose its update policy.