Home Android 3 invisible reasons to get excited about Android 13

3 invisible reasons to get excited about Android 13

141
0

Brace yourself, my fellow Android-adoring animal: You’re about to experience a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Ready?

First things first: Google just launched the first official beta version of this fall’s Android 13 update! If you’ve got a current Pixel phone, that means you can download it onto your device this very second and see all the latest and greatest stuff Google’s got cookin’ up for our future. (Yay!)

Now, for the twist: Unlike most Android betas, this inaugural Android 13 beta release still doesn’t have most of the software’s key features. It’s focused primarily on foundational elements and under-the-hood improvements, and outwardly, it’s pretty darn similar to the previews that preceded it. Honestly, it’s almost more like another developer preview than a beta — at least, in typical Android terms. (Aww…)

When you step back and think about it, that’s probably no big surprise. Google’s colossal I/O developers’ conference is now a mere two weeks away, and that’s the time when Le Googlé traditionally takes the wraps off its flashiest new Android enhancements. The Android 13 development process started a skosh earlier than usual this year, so we technically reached that beta milestone sooner than usual — but for all intents and purposes, the big reveal is still ahead of us.

But wait! Don’t get too disappointed. Thanks to the way Android’s created, it’s possible to peek inside Google’s Android 13 code and get a glimpse at some still-under-wraps elements that are actively being developed. There’s no guarantee all of that stuff will make it into the final software in its exact current form, of course — and it’s also always possible Google’s got more surprises in store that we haven’t yet gotten wind of.

But viewed together, these clues paint a pretty cohesive picture of what Android 13 is more than likely shaping up to be. And despite the fact that this week’s beta doesn’t give us much in the way of tangible new touches, it offers up a tantalizing preview of what’s almost certainly right around the corner.

Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.