In this post, we will talk about the Android 13 main beta 2 features.
Android 13
Android 13 (internally codenamed Android Tiramisu) is the thirteenth and upcoming major release of the Android mobile operating system, developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google.
The first phones to launch with Android 13 will be Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro.
Let’s discuss the new features in Android 13 Beta 2.
New Quick Settings Tiles
Android 13 provides the Quick Settings tile feature. These include:
- A Quick Setting tile to toggle color correction.
- A Quick Setting tile to toggle one-handed mode.
- A new Quick Setting tile to launch Privacy Controls, where users can toggle the camera, microphone, and location availability. Privacy Controls also contains a shortcut to launch security settings.
- The Quick Setting tile for “Device Controls” will have its title changed to “Home” when the user has selected Google Home as the Controls provider.
- A Quick Setting tile to launch a QR code scanner.
Media player in the notification shade
Redesigned media output picker UI
In Android 10, Google introduced an output picker that lets users switch the audio output between supported audio sources, such as connected Bluetooth devices.
This output picker is accessed by tapping the media output picker button in the top-right corner of the media player controls. Now in Android 13, Google has revamped the media output picker UI.
The highlight of the new media output picker UI is the larger volume slider for each connected device.
Redesigned media player UI
In Android 13, Google has revamped the media player UI. The new media player UI features a larger play/pause button that’s been shifted to the right side, a (squiggly) progress slider that’s at the bottom left in line with the rest of the media control buttons, and the media info on the left side.
The album art is displayed in the background, and the color scheme of the media output switcher button is extracted from the album art.
Themed app icons
Starting with Android 13, users can opt into themed app icons. With this feature, app icons in supported Android launchers are tinted to inherit the coloring of the user’s chosen wallpaper and other themes.
Multiuser
In Android 13, It’s easier to install apps to guest profiles. when creating a guest user in Android 13, the owner can choose which apps to install to the guest profile. No data is shared between the owner and guest profiles, however, which means that the guest profile will still need to sign in to those apps if need be.
System Photo Picker
To prevent apps with the broad READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission from accessing sensitive user files, Android 13, is introducing a new system photo picker that extends the Files app with a new experience for picking photos and videos.
The new system photo picker will help protect photo and video privacy by making it easier for users to pick the specific photos and videos to share with an app. Like the Files app, the new system photo picker can share photos and videos stored locally or on cloud storage.
Apps can use the new photo picker APIs in Android 13 to prompt the user to pick which photos or videos to share with the app, without that app needing permission to view all media files.
Per-app language preferences
In the Settings app under the System > Languages & input > Languages submenu, users can choose their preferred language. However, this language is applied system-wide, which may not be what multilingual users necessarily prefer. Some applications offer their own language selection feature, but not every app offers this.
Users can access the new per-app language preferences in Android 13 by going to Settings > System > Languages & input > App Languages. Here, the user can set their preferred language for each app, provided those apps include strings for multiple languages. The app’s language can also be changed by going to Settings > Apps > All apps > {app} > Language.
NFC & NFC-F payment support for work profiles
Android 13 could allow multiple users on a device to set up their own NFC payments service on their respective profiles. Previously, only the primary user could perform contactless payments and access Settings > Connection preferences > NFC > Contactless payments. Work profiles can now also use NFC-F (FeliCa) on supported devices.
Nearby Wi-Fi Devices Permission
Before Android 13, if you want to use Wi-Fi-related features, you would have to ask for ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION permission. This is not ideal as users could be confused and suspicious that your application is actually tracking their location, instead of accessing their Wi-Fi service.
In Android 13, Google is introducing the new NEARBY_WIFI_DEVICES runtime permission, which gives those apps a new option that doesn’t require needless location access.
Runtime permission for notifications
In the latest stable versions of Android, you need to give apps permission to access certain features, such as your location, the camera, and the microphone. When Android 13 lands, you’ll need to do the same thing for notifications.
This will finally end the problem of a newly downloaded app overloading you with alerts and you need to dig down into system settings to stop them. Instead, you can just deny an app the ability to send you notifications right when you install it.