Android 13: Google shows more new features
Google has released the second developer version of Android 13. It contains further innovations for the smartphone operating system.
In Android 13, Google switches app notifications from opt-out to opt-in, supports new audio standards, and changes the file format for emojis.
News from the Developer Preview 2
The most noticeable change in the Developer Preview 2 of Android 13 is probably the change in app notifications. In the future, you will only see them after explicit approval. Previously, it was the other way around - you had to explicitly forbid apps from displaying the notifications.
Two other points in the privacy area, on the other hand, only affect app developers. In the future, they will be able to automatically waive corrections that were previously granted but are no longer needed, and they will be able to export data more securely.
With COLRv1, Android 13 gets a new file format, or rather a new font that displays emojis in more detail than the previously used Bitmoji format.
In the audio area, Android 13 will support Bluetooth LE Audio and MIDI 2.0. Bluetooth Low Energy is thus extended by audio transmissions.
Android 13 is also said to improve the display of Japanese characters in line breaks and optimize the line height when displaying non-Latin characters. In addition, Google offers new Text Conversion APIs that eliminate the need to convert languages with non-Latin characters into Latin characters for search queries. This should allow results to be seen more quickly.
Android 12L, the version for tablets and other devices with large screens, is to be included in Android 13. A distinction according to display sizes will thus be abolished.
New features in Developer Preview 1
In the first Developer Preview to Android 13, Google has previously introduced further innovations. For example, apps no longer see all photos, but only the ones you are currently selecting. The search mask is virtually moved from the app to the system. Location sharing is no longer necessary to connect to devices via WLAN. Google also wants to move more Android updates to apps on Google Play. This is to make the big Android updates, which are slow to spread, less important.
Many innovations primarily help the app developers and only reach you in the second step. For example, they can add new buttons to the quick settings with less effort in Android 13 or allow an app to use a different language than the system language more easily. Google is also extending its "Material You" design philosophy to all apps. However, in order for all app icons to adapt to the wallpapers, they have to be in a monochromatic version. Simplified testing, OpenJDK 11 updates, programmable shaders and faster hyphenation for texts are also added.
The further schedule
Google wants to release beta versions of Android 13 from April to July. These are then already more stable than the current Developer Preview - and were also available for smartphones from other manufacturers in the last few years (the developer version is only available for Pixel models from Google).
Stability is supposed to be the focus in the last two months before the final release. New features are no longer expected then. According to the schedule, Android 13 could be ready from August. However, depending on the manufacturer, it might take even longer until the update is released for their smartphones.
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