During the just-concluded I/O 2022 opening keynote, Google finally announced Android 13 Beta 2. With the launch of the new version, Google hopes to improve the overall quality and performance of the platform, while focusing on the areas that are most important to users. You’ll get features like privacy, security, personalization, and large-screen devices.
Greater control over your personal data
In Android 13, Google decided to bring better control over the personal information you can share and more granular control over the files your apps can access. Instead of allowing access to all files, you can now decide which categories or file types you want your phone to access. This is definitely a feature that most people will appreciate, especially those concerned with their privacy.
In addition, with Android 13, Google is also allowing users to think more carefully about how they will engage with apps. While notifications from apps will always be useful, you’ll now have more control over how you want to be notified. This means that in newer versions of Android, apps must ask your permission before sending you notifications. Later this year, Google will introduce a unified security and privacy settings page in Android 13, bringing data privacy and security across all devices into it.
Richer theme customization options
In Android 13, you will be able to customize the colors of your theme even more. Once you’ve selected a color variant, you’ll see that variant applied to the entire operating system, which will accentuate wallpapers and styles.
Not only that, but Android 13 also extends the color theming of your app icons beyond Google apps. Starting with Google Pixel devices, users will be able to turn on a toggle for “Theme Icons” in your settings, so you can make all supported apps match the phone’s colors.
Others
With the launch of Android 13, Google is also bringing a new media control that customizes its appearance based on the music you’re listening to, featuring artwork from the album. Google has also brought an option that allows you to set the language based on the app, which means if you want your texting app to be in English and the other apps in some other language, you’ll be able to do it easily.
Google is also bringing more and more updates to tablets and larger screens to give you a better overall experience on a tablet. This means that tablets will also get better app support and zooming capabilities. A tablet user drags and drops apps like Google Photos and Gmail into split screen from the new All Apps entry point in the taskbar.