The Best Android 13 Features Worth Knowing About
After four months of beta testing , Android 13 is finally out. The software, codenamed ” Tiramisu “, is already available for many Android users and includes many new features and changes that Google has been preparing for the past year.
However, despite having an integer in the name, Android 13 isn’t a particularly feature-rich update. If your phone even supports Android 13, don’t expect it to revolutionize your mobile experience. But it normal! The changes this update brings to Android are both welcome and needed, from the Material You expansion to powerful security updates, Android 13 is a must for all phones that support it.
What phones are compatible with Android 13?
Currently, only Google Pixel phones can update to Android 13. As is always the case with Android, other OEMs will soon make the update available for their devices: Google says Android 13 will be available later this year on Samsung. Galaxy, Asus, HMD (Nokia phones), iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, vivo, Xiaomi and more.” In the meantime, here is the official limited list of Android 13 phones:
- Pixel 4
- Pixel 4XL
- Pixel 4a
- Pixel 4a 5G
- Pixel 5
- Pixel 5a 5G
- Pixel 6
- Pixel 6 Pro
- Pixel 6a
The material you are updating
The Android 12 Material You design language matches your phone’s wallpaper color scheme with native Android apps and elements. This is a great feature that makes your home screen and overall Android interaction look custom-designed rather than a hodgepodge of different shades and tints.
Android 13 continues where 12 left off: you can now customize third-party apps with Material You to make their app icons match the colors of your wallpaper. Google has also expanded the tonal palettes available for Material You customization – these new “styles” will give you more hue options to choose from for each color. After all, Android is all about customization.
Language settings for each application
If you speak more than one language, you probably feel frustrated when choosing a system-wide language on Android: some apps require one language, while others require another.
In addition to setting one system language, Android 13 now allows you to set languages for each app, so you can keep your phone in English and WhatsApp can be set to French.
New dynamic media player
The media player in Android 13 is undergoing a change. Now it is customizable depending on what you are playing. For example, when listening to a song, the album cover takes up the entire player window, and the progress bar moves in waves, dancing to the music.
Share certain photos and videos with apps, not your entire library
Android 13 introduces one of the best iOS privacy features: when an app requests Google Photos privileges, you no longer have to grant it access to your entire library. Instead, you can choose which photos and videos the app can see, making it ideal for when you only want to share a specific image with the app.
Your clipboard destroys confidential information
Android 13’s clipboard will delete its contents after an hour, ensuring that rogue apps that read the clipboard can’t steal sensitive information. Gboard had this feature, but with Android 13, any keyboard you use will be able to take advantage of this security feature. You now also get an alert every time the app accesses the clipboard, so keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.
Copy items from one android device and paste to another
Speaking of the clipboard, Android 13 will soon let you copy and paste data between Android devices. You can copy an image from your phone and paste it on your tablet, or you can copy text from your tablet and paste it on your phone.
Goodbye notifications
The Android notification system has been the gold standard for years. However, notifications are still notifications, and they are often annoying . There’s nothing worse than downloading a new app, only to get spammed to hell and back about something you don’t care about. By default, Android 13 forces apps to let you subscribe to notifications instead of turning them on automatically, which is a big change.
Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio support
Android 13 supports Bluetooth LE Audio, which reduces latency between an audio source and a Bluetooth audio device such as headphones or a speaker. You should notice that devices sync more consistently after the update.
Turn on dark mode before bed
In addition to the traditional scheduling options for dark mode, you can now choose to switch the system theme to dark mode before bed . If you don’t already use dark mode at night, you might like to use it just before putting your phone away for the night.
Spatial sound support
With Spatial Audio enabled (and compatible headphones), your audio will track your head movements, giving the illusion that the sound is happening all around you. It is a more immersive experience when listening to your favorite songs or watching shows or movies.
Stream conversations from phone to Chromebook
It’s not working yet, but soon you’ll be able to text friends and family from your Chromebook while streaming chats from messaging apps on your phone.
Tablets have a new taskbar
Once your tablet gets Android 13, you’ll notice a new taskbar that shows all your apps and can be dragged and dropped for easy iPadOS-like multitasking. Android 13 can also recognize the difference between palm and stylus touches, which should reduce accidental taps.
Access smart home devices without unlocking your phone
If your smart home device supports this feature, you can now control the device without unlocking your phone first . This makes it easy to give your phone to a friend to control lights, music, or another device without having to give up the rest of the phone to do so.
Over a hundred bug fixes
There are many bug fixes for Pixel devices with the first official Android 13 update. Issues fixed range from Wi-Fi connection issues, face unlock and fingerprint authentication, battery and charging failures, and many UI bugs. You can find the full list of fixed bugs from the “Pixel Phone Help” Google post here .