The list of updates arriving with this year’s version of Android will likely be familiar if you’ve been following the Android 13 betas. There’s the ability to customize non-Google app icons to match the home screen wallpaper we saw in the first developer preview of Android 13, a new permission to reduce unwanted notifications and a new option to limit your photos and videos that an app can access. Apps themed on an Android wallpaper. Image: Google A new permission that allows apps to send notifications. Image: Google Back in January, we wrote that Google planned to spend this year catching up with Apple’s ecosystem integrations, and there’s more evidence of that in the official release of Android 13. The update includes support for spatial audio with head tracking, which has designed to make sounds appear to come from a fixed point in space when you move your head while wearing compatible headphones, similar to a feature Apple offers for its AirPods. Today’s post doesn’t say exactly which headphones it will work with, but Google previously announced that it would update the Pixel Buds Pro to offer support for spatial audio. Second, there’s the ability to stream messages from apps including Google Messages directly to a Chromebook, similar to iMessage on a Mac. It’s another feature that Google introduced in January. In addition to its own Messages app, one of Google’s promotional pieces also shows that it works with the Signal messaging app, and the company says the feature will work with “many of your other favorite messaging apps.” The update also includes a feature that lets you copy content from an Android phone to paste on an Android tablet and vice versa. The ability to set languages per app is another feature of Android 13. Image: Google A message from the app A signal is transmitted from an Android phone to a Chromebook. Image: Google Other Android 13 features include the ability to set languages on a per-app basis, a redesigned media player that adjusts its appearance based on what you’re listening to, support for Bluetooth Low Energy for better audio quality at lower bit rates, and reduced latency. improved multitasking on large screen devices with drag and drop support for multitasking and better palm rejection when using styluses. Google’s announcement didn’t specify exactly which Pixel devices would receive the Android 13 update today, but beta versions of the software were available on everything from the Pixel 4 to the recently launched Pixel 6A. The Android update will come to devices from other manufacturers, including Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, HMD, Motorola, Realme, Sony, Xiaomi and Asus “later this year,” Google’s Sameer Samat writes in today’s announcement post. For more details on the changes arriving in the update, check out Google’s post.
