Google has released the first Android 13 beta and brings with this a number of innovations to the Pixel smartphones. While the official announcement was very modest and practically no major changes were announced, diligent testers have of course still spotted many adjustments. Here you will find an overview of all the new features of the first beta.
It’s the end of April and Google released the first Android 13 beta a little later than planned last night, which can be rolled out via the beta program for all interested users of the Pixel smartphones. It is the first more or less stable version that even non-hobbyists can dare to approach and can finally lend a hand after the insights of the first developer previews.
The scope and importance of the innovations are within limits, because we have already seen the big chunks in the preview versions for developers and now it is more about consolidating them, optimizing them and slowly bringing the operating system towards the final version after the public experimentation phase. To get a complete picture, you will find in the following list once again the link to all innovations of the pre-release versions and below all previously discovered innovations of the first beta.
- The most important new features in Dev Preview 1
- The most important new features in Dev Preview 2
With the new beta, these improvements, if they are still fully included, will be much more stable and have a good chance of being in the final version in late summer.
Android Tiramisu
We’ve known for a long time that Android 13 has the internal name “Tiramisu” and now this is confirmed by a simple icon that you can see on the two screenshots above. It is only a small detail and should disappear again until the final version.
Writing by pen input
Android 13 will pave the way for many more devices beyond smartphones. This is now also reflected in the optimized support of a well-known input method: Writing by pen can be activated separately in the developer options and ensure that apps are informed about the possibility of this input.
Google Calendar icon with the correct date
Another nice detail that you may often use unconsciously and has not worked for some time: The icon of the Google Calendar now shows the current date again. Known from many other calendars, clock apps, other operating systems and also Google Calendar in Android.
A practical innovation: If text is copied to the clipboard, it can now be edited directly. For this, there is a new edit button in the notification, which then opens the input field. This allows you to edit the text before it is used in other apps. Works only with text, but could perhaps also be implemented in the future by simple drawing functions with images. But then probably not before Android 14.
New Pixel Launcher Search Feature
The search bar in the Pixel Launcher’s App Drawer will be replaced by the Google app’s search bar with the first beta. This offers the same possibilities for browsing apps and local content, but also combines it with a web search and many other well-known functions. It’s a test run, but presumably, this change will be done permanently.
Device control from the lock screen
Not only smart home devices can be controlled via smartphones, but of course also directly connected devices such as headphones. Because the control is a double-edged sword when the device is locked, Android 13 now gives users the choice. In the settings, you can specify whether the connected devices can be controlled on the lock screen or not.
New wallpaper colors
In the wallpaper settings, seven new colors have been added. Sounds like little, but instead of four simple colors, there are now eleven and still five dual colors. This brings the color selection for backgrounds in the Pixel Launcher to a total of 16.
Media player with snake lines
A nice visual improvement to the media player notifications: progress bars get a snake line that shows the already played parts of the medium. Looks like it takes some getting used to at first glance, but is a nice effect and could at least in the see-only mode ensure that you significantly reduce the slider or remove it completely. Wouldn’t be so beneficial, but Google’s designers are known to be eager to experiment.