At Google I/O on Wednesday, we obtained a contemporary and detailed take a look at Android 13. The new working system was introduced again in February, however will debut this fall. It builds on the adjustments that got here with Android 12 and presents extra Material You personalizations, elevated instruments for privateness and safety, extra RCS messaging help, a revamped Google Wallet and higher integrations with Chromebooks, watches, TVs, vehicles and sensible dwelling units. The new software program makes Android and Google’s huge software program ecosystem extra aggressive with Apple’s extensive portfolio of software program and providers. The proof is within the numbers.For the primary time ever, Google shared the variety of Android cellphone activations, which in 2021 exceeded 1 billion units. And there are greater than 3 billion energetic Android units month-to-month in response to Sameer Samat, vp of product administration for Android and Google Play.Those statistics, mixed with issues like Samsung providing 4 years of main Android OS updates, put Google in a singular place. It has to help a various array of outdated and new telephones in addition to tablets and foldables. Luckily, Android 13 is proof that Google is prepared and keen to maintain its crown jewel OS customizable and updated whereas giving Android cellphone homeowners a extra seamless expertise throughout a number of units. Some of the options Google highlighted are enhancements to current options or help for options in additional international locations. Android 13 is presently in beta. For extra data take a look at Google’s Android Beta web site.

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Android 13: Our Favorite New Features

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End-to-end encryption for RCS group chats in MessagesGoogle labored with carriers and cellphone producers over the past a number of years to roll out Rich Communication Services as a feature-rich different to SMS and MMS textual content messaging. This gives help for high-quality images, messaging over Wi-Fi, a greater group messaging expertise and typing indicators, which let you recognize when somebody is typing. The app already helps end-to-end encryption for one-to-one conversations routinely, and help for encrypted group chats will roll out later this yr.End-to-end encryption for group conversations is coming to Google Messages later this yr.
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Google notes that its RCS-powered Messages app — the default texting app on many Android telephones — already has half a billion month-to-month energetic customers on Android telephones. While the RCS normal may ultimately change into common, for now it stays unsupported on iOS and different cellphone working methods.Google Wallet and Wear OSGoogle Wallet, which initially debuted in 2011, will get a variety of updates and new performance. Google Wallet can retailer digital variations of your important paperwork, together with cost playing cards, transit passes, workplace badges, vaccine data, automobile keys, boarding passes and scholar IDs. The thought is to supply a quicker, safer different to bodily playing cards. Google is working with US states and worldwide governments to help digital IDs, one thing Apple Wallet began to help in a number of US states again in March.Google Wallet shops your information and playing cards securely and domestically in your machine.
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Google Wallet may even assist you to share a digital card over both NFC or a QR code, which might be a quicker solution to share a card’s data as a substitute of bodily handing your cellphone over to the particular person checking it. Google Wallet additionally helps integrations with different apps you could decide into. For instance, you probably have a transit card in Google Wallet, your card and stability will routinely present up in Google Maps whenever you seek for instructions. That manner, in case your stability is low, you possibly can add more cash for the fare earlier than you arrive at your station or cease. In phrases of controlling your privateness, Google Wallet shops every thing securely in your cellphone and would not share information with Google providers. Later this summer time greater than 40 international locations that presently use Google Pay will probably be upgraded to Google Wallet. The exceptions are India, which is able to nonetheless use Google Pay, and the US and Singapore which could have each Google Wallet and Google Pay. Any machine operating Android 5 (Lollipop) or Wear OS will help it.Emergency SOS is coming to Wear OSWhen there’s an emergency, our telephones change into much more very important. As a part of Android 12, Google rolled out Emergency SOS which helps you to get assist, contact a trusted particular person and share your emergency data with out unlocking your cellphone. Google is working to convey Emergency SOS to Wear OS.As Wear OS watches from Fossil, Montblanc, Mobvoi and others begin to roll out later this yr, one function they may all share is Emergency SOS.
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Emergency Location Services, which is already constructed into Android, helps first responders discover you whenever you name for assist. ELS is now obtainable to greater than 1 billion folks worldwide.Early Earthquake Warnings by way of Android are already in place in 25 international locations, and this yr Google will launch them in additional high-risk areas all over the world. In locations that do not have official early warning methods, Android can crowdsource indications of an earthquake from telephones. When units first detect waves generated by quakes, Google analyzes the info from telephones and sends an early warning alert to folks in that space.

Android 12L and the way forward for tablets and foldablesGoogle says that there are 275 million energetic customers on giant display screen units comparable to tablets and foldable telephones. In March, Android 12L launched to assist builders design apps for these bigger screens. Android 13 continues the place 12L left off and introduces higher multitasking from the toolbar for break up display screen apps in addition to help and optimizations for greater than 20 Google apps together with YouTube Music, Google Maps and Google Messages.More Material YouProbably the most apparent adjustments in Android 12 was Material You. Android basically adapts the way in which your private home display screen and app icons look based mostly on colours present in your wallpaper picture. For Android 13, Google is introducing premade coloration units for many who need one thing a bit of totally different. You select the colour scheme and it will be utilized throughout all the OS.Android 13 has new coloration variant units to offer you extra management over the way in which your cellphone seems to be.
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Themed icons will not be restricted to system apps. There’s now a toggle in Settings that allows you to flip themed icons on for all apps on your private home display screen.Media controls additionally get a lift from Material You. When you are listening to music, the participant window will undertake the colour of the album paintings. There’s additionally a brand new waveform progress bar that strikes alongside to the audio.In Android 13, the media participant controls will use a coloration from the album paintings for no matter you are listening to.
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Better privateness and security measuresThe App Language Settings now means that you can set totally different default languages for various apps. For instance, your financial institution app might be set to English whereas your messaging app is in Hindi. Like the cameras on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, that is one other instance of Google being extra inclusive and equitable with its software program and design.The Android Photo Picker provides a terrific privateness function that originated in iOS: You can restrict which images and movies an app has entry to. Instead of granting an app entry to your full picture library, you possibly can select particular photographs for that exact app.Android 13 will convey a brand new Security and Privacy web page to Settings full with a color-coded standing exhibiting how safe your cellphone is.
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Android already notifies you when an app accesses your copy and paste clipboard. But Android 13 goes even additional and routinely deletes your cellphone’s clipboard historical past after a brief time frame.Later this yr, Google will add a unified Security and Privacy settings web page that places all of your cellphone’s information privateness and safety entrance and middle. There will probably be a color-coded indicator exhibiting your security standing and providing steering to make your cellphone safer.Android 13 works higher together with your different unitsGoogle says the common US family has 20 related units. Earlier this yr Google revealed its imaginative and prescient for a way Android will work higher together with your TV, vehicles, audio system and laptops. Android 13 will help quick pairing for establishing new units together with your cellphone, automated audio switching between units in your headphones and copy-pasting between units. It’ll additionally allow you to stream messages and different apps out of your cellphone to your laptop.Chromecast is coming to vehicles.
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The Chromecast will help extra units from corporations comparable to Bose, TCL, Sony, Vizio and LG. It may even lengthen casting capabilities to new merchandise, comparable to to Chromebooks and even your automobile.Wear OS has new apps from Spotify and Adidas. It will help turn-by-turn instructions for biking and strolling utilizing haptic suggestions, just like the Apple Watch does.The Google Play Store will get a visible overhaul. The app seems to be cleaner. The retailer is less complicated to navigate and apps are simpler to search out. A giant yearly Android replace vs. smaller common updatesAndroid 13 brings extra performance, safety and privateness to your cellphone. And whereas yearly main Android updates aren’t going anyplace, Google’s made it clear that options comparable to Google Wallet and RCS messaging are more likely to be up to date as wanted throughout units. This might be notably helpful for telephones which may not obtain Android 13, however will nonetheless get the enhancements from updates to the Wallet and Messages apps. I’m excited to attempt Android 13 out and see what the ultimate model seems to be like later this yr.