What is Android 13?
We got our first glimpse at Android 13 in
February 2022 when Google released the first developer preview of the software
to help developers get their apps ready for the stable release. The first
Android 13 beta was released in May 2022, publicly available to anyone brave
enough to use beta firmware on their Pixel phone. After that, the company
focused on improving the last few bits and pieces leading up to the August 2022
launch of the software.
Like every year, the newest release of
Android rolled out to Pixel phones first, but as always, the company waved
goodbye to some of its older phones. Devices older than the Pixel 4 and 4a are
cut off, with the former getting updates until October 2022 and the latter
until August 2023.
It was expected that Android 13 would launch
earlier than other recent Android releases as the first developer preview came
out in February, and in the end, things panned out that way. With the August 15
launch out of the way, this is one of the earliest Android launches.
All the Android 13 features you need to know
about
With Android 13 available on Pixel phones and
coming as the debut OS on the Google Pixel
7 and Pixel 7 Pro, we want to give you an in-depth overview of
what's new.
Android 13's internal codename
All Android versions used to come with
delicious, sweets-based codenames. Remember Android 4.4 KitKat or Android 9
Pie? While Google doesn't use these codenames for marketing purposes anymore,
its developers still use them internally. For Android 13, this name is
Tiramisu, following up on the not-publicly used Snow Cone for
Android 12, Red Velvet Cake for Android 11, and Quince Tart for Android 10.
More Material You color schemes and cinematic
wallpapers come on the latest version of Android
Android 13 gives us a selection of new
palettes for extracting colors from the wallpaper. In addition to the existing
"tonal spot" colors, Google gives users and Android manufacturers
access to three other methods:
Vibrant: Differs slightly in supplementary
accents.
Expressive: Offers a wider range of colors
that apparently extend to colors not seen in the background.
Good read