Android 13
Android 13 is the thirteenth major version of the Android mobile operating system, developed as part of the Android Open Source Project by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. Released on August 15, 2022, to Google Pixel devices, it succeeded Android 12 and focused on refining user privacy, personalization, and connectivity across devices like phones, tablets, and Chromebooks.[1] Internally codenamed Tiramisu, Android 13's development began with the first developer preview in February 2022, followed by multiple betas leading to platform stability in June 2022.[2] The update emphasized incremental improvements over revolutionary changes, building on the Material You design language introduced in Android 12 to offer more intuitive and secure experiences.[3] It became available on additional devices from manufacturers including Samsung, OnePlus, and Xiaomi later in 2022, with ongoing security updates extending support for compatible hardware.[1] Key features in Android 13 include the photo picker, which allows users to grant apps access to specific media without full library permissions, enhancing privacy controls.[4] Themed app icons enable dynamic coloring based on wallpaper, while per-app language preferences let users set different languages for individual applications.[3] Clipboard improvements provide previews and automatic clearing after one hour to prevent sensitive data exposure, and a new runtime permission for notifications gives users finer control over app alerts.[5] Connectivity enhancements support Bluetooth Low Energy Audio for better sound quality and cross-device copy-paste between Android devices and Chromebooks.[1] For larger screens like tablets, Android 13 introduced better multitasking with freeform windows and improved stylus input, alongside spatial audio for immersive media playback.[6] Performance optimizations, such as battery usage insights in settings and foreground service restrictions, aimed to improve efficiency and developer productivity.[7] These updates also included developer tools like programmable shaders for graphics and MIDI 2.0 support, facilitating richer app experiences.[8] Overall, Android 13 prioritized user agency and seamless integration in an increasingly multi-device ecosystem.[1]Development
Announcement and previews
Google announced Android 13, internally codenamed Tiramisu—a continuation of the company's dessert-themed naming convention for Android versions—on February 10, 2022, through an official post on the Android Developers Blog.[9] This marked the initial public reveal of the operating system's development, emphasizing ongoing priorities from Android 12 such as enhanced privacy and security, productivity improvements, and user customization options.[9] The announcement highlighted teased features like a system-wide photo picker for better privacy control over media sharing, per-app language preferences to allow individualized language settings without altering the system default, and themed icons for greater personalization of the home screen.[9] Alongside the announcement, Google released Android 13 Developer Preview 1 on February 10, 2022, available exclusively for the Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5, Pixel 5a (5G), Pixel 6, and Pixel 6 Pro.[3] This early build was designed primarily for developers to test and provide feedback on new APIs, focusing on stability rather than polished consumer features, with an expected platform stability milestone in June 2022 ahead of the final release later that year.[9] Google followed up with Android 13 Developer Preview 2 on March 17, 2022, also for supported Pixel devices, introducing additional refinements to user interface elements and privacy controls.[10] Notable additions included expanded support for per-app language settings, enabling users to select distinct languages for individual applications, as well as UI tweaks such as improved clipboard access notifications to enhance security by alerting users to copied sensitive data.[10] These previews served as the foundation for developer integration, paving the way for the subsequent public beta program in April 2022.[3]Beta program
The Android 13 beta program followed the developer previews announced earlier in 2022, marking the transition to broader public testing for the operating system's refinements. Launched on April 26, 2022, the program initially provided access to Beta 1 exclusively on Google Pixel devices starting from the Pixel 4 series, including the Pixel 4, 4a, 5, 5a, 6, and 6 Pro models.[11] This phase aimed to gather real-world usage data to identify and resolve issues before the stable release, with participants encouraged to test app compatibility and new capabilities such as enhanced privacy controls. Subsequent betas iterated on user and developer feedback, focusing on bug fixes, performance optimizations, and feature polishing. Beta 2 arrived on May 11, 2022, addressing early stability concerns reported from the initial release.[12] Beta 3, released on June 8, 2022, achieved platform stability, enabling developers to finalize app targeting for Android 13 while incorporating fixes for connectivity and UI responsiveness.[13] The final Beta 4, deployed on July 13, 2022, refined audio features like spatial audio and Bluetooth LE Audio support, alongside resolutions for remaining bugs in media handling and system notifications.[14] Each update was delivered over-the-air to enrolled devices, ensuring incremental improvements based on aggregated reports. Enrollment in the beta program was straightforward and managed through the official Android Beta website, where users signed in with their Google account, selected eligible Pixel devices, and opted in after reviewing the terms.[15] Once enrolled, devices automatically received beta updates via system notifications, though users could unenroll at any time, which would revert to the stable version upon the next factory image flash. Supported devices were limited to recent Pixels to maintain testing consistency, with warnings about potential instability for daily drivers. Feedback collection was integral to the program's success, with mechanisms integrated directly into the Android Beta Feedback app and Google's public issue tracker for submitting bugs, crash logs, and feature suggestions. Users could generate detailed bug reports from device settings or quick settings, attaching logs for triage by Google engineers, while community forums on the Android Beta site facilitated discussions and duplicate issue flagging.[16] This structured approach allowed for rapid iteration, with changes in later betas directly attributing to high-priority reports on areas like battery drain and app crashes. In later stages, the beta program expanded beyond Pixels through partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), enabling select non-Pixel devices from Samsung, Xiaomi, and others to access Android 13-based betas tailored to their custom interfaces, such as One UI and MIUI, starting in July and August 2022.[17] This OEM involvement broadened testing coverage for device-specific integrations while relying on Google's core platform feedback channels.Release timeline
Android 13 reached stable release on August 15, 2022, marking the official launch for Google Pixel devices starting with the Pixel 4 and all newer models.[3][18] The update rolled out initially via over-the-air (OTA) downloads, with the primary build number TP1A.220624.014 applied to eligible Pixels.[19] The deployment followed a staggered schedule across regions, beginning in the United States and extending to Europe and Asia within weeks to ensure stability and monitor for issues.[20] Google initiated monthly security patches immediately after, with the September 2022 bulletin—published on September 6—addressing critical vulnerabilities, including the high-severity System flaw CVE-2022-20395 that enabled local privilege escalation.[21] To deliver ongoing enhancements, Google launched Quarterly Platform Releases (QPRs) for Android 13. QPR1 betas debuted in September 2022 and progressed through October, culminating in a stable rollout on December 5, 2022, which added minor features such as customizable lock screen media controls.[22][23] QPR2 betas followed starting December 12, 2022, providing additional refinements ahead of its stable version in March 2023.[24] QPR3 betas began the week of March 13, 2023, and concluded the Android 13 beta program with a stable release in June 2023.[25]Features
Privacy and security
Android 13 introduces several enhancements to user privacy by providing greater transparency and control over app access to sensitive device features. The Privacy Dashboard, accessible via Settings > Privacy, has been updated to display a timeline of app usage for camera, microphone, and location permissions over the past 24 hours, allowing users to monitor which applications have accessed these sensors and revoke permissions if necessary.[26][27] This feature builds on prior versions by integrating more detailed indicators directly in the system UI, helping users identify potential privacy risks from recent app activity.[28] A key addition is the Photo Picker API, which enables users to share specific photos and videos from their library without granting apps full access to the entire media collection.[29] Instead of relying on broad storage permissions, apps can invoke the system-provided picker, which presents a secure, standardized interface for selective sharing, thereby reducing the risk of unauthorized data exposure.[30] This API is particularly beneficial for privacy-conscious users, as it minimizes the scope of permissions while maintaining functionality for media-sharing apps. Android 13 also mandates a new runtime permission for notifications, requiring apps to explicitly request user approval before posting notifications, which prevents unsolicited alerts and enhances control over device disturbances.[31] Relatedly, restrictions on foreground services have been tightened; if the notification permission is denied, foreground service notifications are hidden from the drawer (though visible in the Task Manager), promoting better battery privacy by discouraging unnecessary persistent services.[32] These changes collectively reduce app intrusiveness without compromising essential functionality. On the security front, protections for Bluetooth scanning have been strengthened through refined permission models, including the introduction of a "neverForLocation" flag for the BLUETOOTH_SCAN permission, which allows scanning without implying location access and prevents apps from deriving user position data covertly. Additionally, the system now automatically revokes runtime permissions for apps that have not been used in the past three months, a policy that can be managed by users in settings, further safeguarding dormant applications from retaining unnecessary access.[33] Developers can also proactively revoke permissions via new APIs to align with user privacy expectations.[28] Scoped storage enforcement in Android 13 becomes stricter, particularly for media files, by requiring granular permissions such as READ_MEDIA_IMAGES, READ_MEDIA_VIDEO, or READ_MEDIA_AUDIO instead of the broader READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE.[34] This prevents apps from accessing unrelated file types on external storage without explicit user consent, enforcing a more compartmentalized approach to file system privacy and reducing the potential for data leakage across media categories.[35]User interface
Android 13 introduced several enhancements to the user interface, focusing on greater personalization and intuitive interactions to improve usability across devices. A key feature is support for themed icons, where apps can provide monochromatic icons that automatically adapt their tint to match the colors extracted from the user's wallpaper, creating a more cohesive home screen appearance. This functionality requires developers to opt-in by including both adaptive and monochromatic icon assets in the app's manifest, and it is only displayed if the user enables themed icons in settings and the launcher supports the feature.[26][36] Another significant update is per-app language settings, allowing users to assign distinct preferred languages to individual applications without affecting the system-wide language. This enables seamless switching between languages based on app usage, such as setting a news app to one language and a social media app to another, and is available directly through the system settings menu starting with Android 13. Developers must declare support via theandroid:localeConfig attribute in the manifest to enable this capability.[26][36]
The Quick Settings panel received refinements for better accessibility, including larger tile designs that facilitate one-handed operation and easier customization. Users can now more readily add or rearrange tiles, with new system dialogs simplifying the process for third-party apps to request placement via the Quick Settings Placement API, enhancing overall panel usability on larger screens.[37][26]
Clipboard interactions were improved with a standardized visual preview that appears when content is copied, providing immediate feedback and access to clipboard history, and automatic clearing after one hour to prevent sensitive data exposure.[1][38]
Lock screen customizations were expanded, offering users the ability to select between different clock styles, such as a compact single-line layout or the traditional double-line format, directly from display settings. Some original equipment manufacturer (OEM) implementations, like those on Google Pixel devices, further integrate weather information into the lock screen for at-a-glance utility.[39][1]
System enhancements
Android 13 introduces spatial audio support as a built-in feature within the Media3 library, allowing developers to implement immersive, realistic-sounding audio experiences in compatible applications and with supported headphones. This enhancement enables spatialization of audio sources in 3D space, improving media playback by simulating directional sound without requiring additional hardware dependencies.[26] The predictive back gesture represents a key system navigation improvement in Android 13, providing a preview animation of the previous screen when users initiate the back action on phones, large screens, and foldables. This feature helps reduce user errors by visualizing the navigation outcome before completion, enhancing overall system stability and user confidence in multitasking scenarios. Apps targeting Android 13 must update their activities to support this gesture for optimal integration.[40] App hibernation, introduced in Android 12, was enhanced in Android 13 by reducing the inactivity period to eight days for placement in the restricted App Standby Bucket—automatically suspending unused applications, freeing up storage by clearing caches and reducing battery drain through limits on background jobs, alarms, and notifications.[41] This mechanism prioritizes core OS efficiency by optimizing resource allocation for active apps, while protecting user privacy via runtime permission resets on hibernated apps.[42] Users can disable hibernation for specific apps through device settings, and developers can request exemptions using APIs likecreateManageUnusedAppRestrictionsIntent().[42]
Android 13 enhances thermal management with refined throttling algorithms that better balance performance and heat generation during intensive tasks, such as prolonged gaming or video processing. These improvements, part of broader Battery Resource Utilization updates, allow the system to more intelligently manage process termination and power limits to prevent overheating while maintaining battery life.[43]
Media and connectivity
Android 13 introduced a built-in QR code scanner integrated directly into the Quick Settings panel, allowing users to access it swiftly without relying on third-party applications. This feature supports scanning both live camera feeds and static images, enhancing convenience for tasks like payments via UPI flows, where it triggers relevant apps through a disambiguation dialog prioritizing frequently used options.[44] The scanner's placement in Quick Settings streamlines everyday use, such as accessing links or verifying information, and maintains backward compatibility with Android 12 devices.[44] In terms of musical connectivity, Android 13 added native support for the MIDI 2.0 standard, enabling seamless USB connections to compatible hardware like controllers and synthesizers. This update improves device discovery, reduces latency for real-time performance, and supports higher-resolution control data, benefiting digital audio workstations (DAWs) and expressive instruments, including better handling of non-Western scales.[26][10] These enhancements allow for more precise and responsive music creation on compatible devices. For image handling, Android 13 continued native decoding support for the AVIF format, which leverages AV1 compression to deliver smaller file sizes—often 20-50% reduction compared to JPEG—while maintaining or improving visual quality, transparency, and HDR capabilities in applications.[45] This built-in capability enables apps to load AVIF images efficiently without additional libraries, promoting better media performance across galleries, browsers, and social platforms. Connectivity saw advancements with Bluetooth LE Audio integration, featuring the LC3 codec as the default for audio transmission. LC3 provides superior sound quality at lower bitrates than traditional SBC, resulting in richer audio experiences and up to 50% better battery efficiency for devices like wireless earbuds, while supporting multi-stream audio and seamless device switching.[46][26] Keyboard input received refinements, including enhanced haptic feedback options for key presses to deliver more tactile and customizable vibrations, improving typing feel across apps. Additionally, emoji predictions were bolstered through updated text processing, offering smarter suggestions based on context for quicker insertion during composition. These changes, combined with new text conversion APIs, facilitate faster input in languages like Japanese and Chinese by enabling live phonetic-to-character conversion.[47][48]Platform
New APIs
Android 13 introduces updates to the WindowInsets API to improve handling of edge-to-edge displays and gesture navigation. These enhancements allow developers to receive more precise inset information for system UI elements, such as status bars and navigation gestures, enabling apps to draw content seamlessly behind them while avoiding overlaps. For apps targeting API level 33, the system defaults to edge-to-edge rendering for certain window types, reducing the need for manual configuration and improving immersion on modern devices with gesture-based navigation. Developers can use methods likegetInsetsIgnoringVisibility() to query adjusted insets that account for gesture areas, facilitating better layout decisions in full-screen experiences.[49]
The ExifInterface class receives enhancements in Android 13, expanding support for reading and writing GPS and orientation data in images across various formats, including JPEG and WebP. These updates enable more accurate extraction of location metadata (via tags like TAG_GPS_LATITUDE and TAG_GPS_LONGITUDE) and orientation details (such as TAG_ORIENTATION), which is crucial for apps handling photo geotagging or rotation correction. The API now better integrates with the new photo picker, ensuring privacy-compliant access to EXIF data without exposing full file paths, thus aiding developers in building location-aware media applications.[50]
A key addition in Android 13 is the MediaMetrics API, part of the android.media.metrics package, which permits apps to report playback metrics for analytics while minimizing privacy risks through system-level aggregation. Apps can create PlaybackSession or EditingSession instances to log events like playback starts, errors (PlaybackErrorEvent), track changes (TrackChangeEvent), and buffering durations, with metrics accessible via getMetrics() on media players. This API supports detailed reporting without direct user data exposure, as the system anonymizes and processes the information, benefiting media apps in optimizing performance based on aggregated insights.[51][52]