Google has released Android 13 to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Let’s discover the new features in the operating system.
What’s new in Android 13
Personalization
Android 13 improves the style introduced in Material You design, and now lets you customize non-Google apps to use your wallpaper’s colors and theme. It also supports themed app icons.
Privacy and Security
The new version of the mobile OS has a new media access control system, that restricts apps from accessing all media content such as photos and videos on your phone.
The new clipboard management in Android 13 will clear your clipboard’s history automatically after some time, when you copy sensitive information such as your email address, phone number, passwords, etc.
Per app language settings
Users who know multiple languages can now set apps to use a specific language, while other apps will use the system language.
Android 13 improves line heights for non-latin scripts including Tamil, Burmese, Telugu, and Tibetan, for easier readability. It also improves the hyphenation performance.
New Media Player
The update introduces a new media player with an animated playback bar that dances as the song progresses. The media player in Android 13 has a new UI for the controls.
Wallpaper Dimming and Bedtime mode
The Bedtime mode is customizable, and supports wallpaper dimming, including dark themes. This prevents the screen from being very bright in case you use your phone in the middle of the night.
Notification permissions
Apps that you download will not be able to send notifications by default, and will now require your permission to send alerts.
Improved Back Gesture
The operating system has a new predictive back gesture to help make navigation between apps easier.
Pixel phones which are eligible for the Android 13 update
The Android 13 update is rolling out to the following Pixel devices today: Pixel 6a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 5a, Pixel 5, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4 XL and Pixel 4. Users can download the factory images for the update from Google’s website.
