Android 13 nears final beta release

Google is fast moving towards the next release of Android. Yesterday, the company announced the “final”beta version of Android 13, Beta 4, with the words that the official release “will be in the coming weeks.”

After an overhaul of Android 12, Android 13 appears to be a smaller version that focuses on various tablet improvements and features. Much of Android 13 builds on Android 12 and Android 12L’s mini release targeting tablets. There are more Material You color options and more settings for the new notification media player. The tablet interface has a new app drawer button for the taskbar and split screen drag and drop support for notifications. You get more control over apps with the foreground app task manager and a new permission that requires apps to request access to notifications. Under the hood, there are some serious virtualization capabilities and support for Bluetooth LE Audio. Finally there is a standard QR code reader.

Android 13 solidified a while ago and this latest release is all about bug fixes. Google notes that the Play Store is ready to accept your Android 13 compatible apps, and if you have the latest Pixel phone, you can sign up for the beta at android.com/beta.

As for the final version, the final beta of Android 12 was released in September, and the final release of the source code was released a month later in October. The official builds took a little longer as Google delayed them until the Pixel 6 launch date. It’s unknown how the Android 13 release will be handled. Google’s timelines above are always purposefully flexible with regards to the final release.