Android 13: Everything You Need to Know - [Features + Download + Supported Devices]

Android 13, codenamed Tiramisu, is a much-awaited and much-needed major update that brings some amazing new features to the mobile operating system by Google right after Android 12, which no doubt was an amazing update but lacked polishing and touchups.

However, as the latest version has already been released, we know how excited you are to get your hands on it. In this blog post, we are going to share with you everything you need to know about Android 13, including the notable features, security and privacy enhancements, other key improvements, the list of compatible devices, and how you can download this latest Android OS on your phone.

We will keep this article updated as we receive further development updates from Google and other mobile manufacturers about the official compatibility of their devices with Android 13.

What is Android 13?

Every year Google releases new and upgraded variants of their Android platform for smartphones, tablets, and TV devices and in 2022 they developed and released Android 13.

For your information, Android has had a more than eighty percent market share since 2014. And it is getting stronger with every passing year as more and more people opt for devices powered by Android OS. It is expected that by the end of 2023, Android will have a whopping eighty-seven percent market share.

This latest variant is expected to be available and will be quickly rolled out for a wide range of devices in the coming months due to the major security and privacy improvements along with the addition of new features.

Release Dates for Android 13

Google officially released Android 13 to the public on August 15, 2022, for Pixel devices and immediately made it available on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

It was first announced on February 10, 2022, and the First Developer Preview was released for Pixel 4, Pixel 5, Pixel 6, and Pixel 7. The second Developer Preview was released in March 2022. Beta 1 was available on April 26, 2022, and Beta 2 was released on May 11, 2022, during the Google I/O event, then just after three months it was publicly released for Pixel devices.

What new features have been added to Android 13?

Android 13 brings you greater possibilities to personalize the experience according to your taste and liking, all thanks to the Material You UI. It now allows you to customize the apps and whole user interface based on the phone’s theme, color scheme, media player, and even your preferred language according to your preference.

Let’s dive deeper into the notable features of Android 13:

Customizable Themes and Colors for App Icons

For the first time ever, Android natively allows you to completely makeover and customize your phone according to your preferences. You can use themes to customize the color scheme of all the app icons. This will give your phone’s UI a better look, as everything on your home screen will match the color scheme of the wallpaper.

New Media Player Control

The media player on the lock screen, when the music is playing, now comes with better controls and you can see the album artwork that covers the full width of the media player widget. Moreover, there is a dancing playback bar too that looks like a crawling snake.

App-Based Language Preferences

There have been cases when you want to use a specific app in a language other than the one set by default from the Android settings. It could be like using only the YouTube app in your native languages like Chinese, Dutch, or Spanish. With the new app-based language preference and support for multiple languages, you can now achieve that with just a few taps, which enhances the overall experience.

Privacy and Security Enhancements in Android 13

This update prioritizes security to keep your data secure and protected. Android 13 provides much greater control over privacy and data access, especially what information can be accessed and what cannot be accessed by apps. This includes clipboard history, photos, videos, and other files stored on your device.

Auto Clear Clipboard History

Clipboard history is one of the important features of Android, and anything you copy will be temporarily stored in the clipboard for later access. In the previous Android versions, every app used to have access to your clipboard data, but with the release of Android 13, you will receive a notification whenever any app wants to access it. You can better protect your information.

Also, if you have copied any sensitive data, Android will automatically clear it after a specified period to ensure it is not accessible for longer. This helps protect your personal data. It’s good proactive protection.

Share Selected Photos and Videos with Apps, Not Entire Gallery

Android has added a photo picker feature in this latest variant, which enables you to share only selected photos and videos with an app rather than sharing the entire gallery, which is not usually necessary. For instance, you want to upload a profile picture on an app but now it won’t ask for files and media permission, so that is exactly where this comes in handy.

More Control over the Notifications

There are certain apps we install to get a specific task done until it starts sending you notifications every once in a while, causing distractions. However, with Android 13, you will have full control over notifications, and you can select which apps are allowed to send you notifications. You will be shown a popup request and then it’s up to you whether you want to allow notifications or not.

Enriched Usability between Phones and other Devices with Android 13

Android 13 brings enhanced usability as it now seamlessly connects all of your devices together to make things easier for you to manage. You can now enjoy a better multitasking experience between phone and tablet devices as well as gain more control over audio and messaging.

Always Connected Messaging App

The Messaging app by Google is now better than ever before, as it keeps you connected even when your main phone is out of reach. Thanks to this feature, you can now send and receive messages and seamlessly chat with your friends on your phone, tablet, Chromebook, or Google’s Messages for web on your computer using a web browser.

Enhanced Audio with Spatial Audio

You can now enjoy audio with enhanced quality in immersive mode thanks to the native Spatial Audio support. If you have headphones with head tracking then turning or tilting your head will shift the source of audio, making you feel like you are physically sitting right in the middle surrounded by speakers. It unlocks a completely new experience when watching a movie, concert, or even a live game.

Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Support

Android 13 brings support for Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio, which is designed to improve overall audio and sound quality and allow you to broadcast audio to your friends and family simultaneously. Since it is a low-energy technology, it also saves battery life.

Copy and Paste Now Works Cross-Device

With the release of Android 13, developers have made connectivity seamless between your devices by introducing copy-and-paste features that work between multiple connected devices. For instance, if you took a photo from your phone, simply copy that and it will be available on your tablet ready to be pasted wherever you want. Similarly, you can copy almost any content including text, URL, or any data. Saving a lot of time and headaches.

Better Multitasking on Tablet with Taskbar and Split-Screen

Multitasking on tablet devices has become more powerful than ever before, which ultimately increases your productivity on the bigger screen. The split-screen view has been redesigned with the addition of a taskbar that enables you to open any secondary app directly into the split screen. This allows you to take care of multiple tasks at once.

How to Download Android 13 Image Files and Binaries?

Below, you can find the latest stable Generic System Image (GSI) binaries for compatible Android devices for different CPU architectures.

Here are the details about the stable release:

Date: August 15, 2022
Build: TP1A.220624.014
Security Patch Level: August 2022
Google Play Services: 22.18.21

Architecture	GSI Binary File
x86 64 – GMS	Download
x86 64 – AOSP	Download
ARM64 – GMS	Download
ARM64 – AOSP	Download

List of Devices with Android 13 Support and Download Links

Here is a list of manufacturers and devices that are currently compatible with the latest Android 13 about which we have officially received updates. Some have support for stable releases (Pixel) whereas others in the list come with Developer Preview releases by OEM.

Google Pixel

Compatible Pixel devices and links for stable Android 13 releases:

Phone Model	Over The Air (OTA)	Factory Image
Google Pixel 4	Download – October	Download – October
Google Pixel 4 XL	Download – October	Download – October
Google Pixel 4a	Download – November	Download – November
Google Pixel 4a 5G	Download – November	Download – November
Google Pixel 5	Download – November	Download – November
Google Pixel 5a	Download – November	Download – November
Google Pixel 6	Download – November	Download – November
Google Pixel 6 Pro	Download – November	Download – November
Google Pixel 6a	Download – November	Download – November
Google Pixel 7 – Unlocked	Download – November	Download – November
Google Pixel 7 Pro – Unlocked	Download – November	Download – November