Android 13 starts rolling out to Pixel phones

Google has started rolling out Android 13, the company announced today. The update is now rolling out to Pixel phones, and Google is also releasing Android 13 as part of its Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

According to a Google blog post, Android 13 is coming to Android devices from the Samsung Galaxy lineup, as well as devices from Asus, Nokia (via HMD), iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, Vivo, Xiaomi, and more.. others “later this year.”

Android 13 doesn’t have many groundbreaking features, but it does include improvements to customization options, sound, and security. Google is also expanding the Material You UI introduced in Android 12 so that even non-Google apps can match the colors of your wallpaper and theme.

Other visual changes include the ability to add wallpaper dimming and a dark theme to sleep mode. And the media player has been updated to display album art “and has a playbar that dances as the song progresses,”according to a Google blog.

Speaking of audio, Android 13 supports Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio. The Bluetooth SIG unveiled the specification last month, saying it delivers better sound quality, including over longer distances, than Bluetooth 5.2 and other forms of Bluetooth Classic, while being more energy efficient. Bluetooth LE Audio also allows the device to broadcast to several other devices.

In addition, Google has added spatial audio support for headphones using head tracking.

Security-related features that Google is introducing in Android 13 include requiring recently downloaded apps to get permission before sending notifications and sensitive clipboard data like email addresses and login credentials. According to Google, it will automatically remove these items from the clipboard after “a certain period of time”.

In an effort to encourage people to use more Google hardware, Android 13 allows users to transfer messaging apps to Chromebooks and will reportedly eventually let you copy text, videos, and images between an Android phone and tablet. Google hasn’t specified a release time for the latest feature.

Unlike the release of Android 12, whose source code was released before the OS for devices, Google is starting to roll out Android 13 for phones and AOSP at the same time.

Android 13 also updates the tablet-focused Android 12L released in March with “improved taskbar multitasking, larger screen layouts and optimizations in system UI and apps, improved app compatibility modes, and more”for developers.