Much awaited Android 13 is nearing its official release and the first beta version just got released. The first two releases were Developer Previews, released in Feb and March of this year. The beta 1 release is first of the four planned for this year.
Release timeline
The next three beta releases for Android 13 will come in May, Jun and Jul 2022. And then the final release will be in the later part of the year. The next release of the Beta version might coincide with the Google I/O developer conference planned next month.
What’s new
One of the key features in Android 13 beta 1 release is the new granular level of permissions on media files. Now, apps that want access to your media files need to get three specific permissions i.e. one permission each for images, videos and audio files. After granting the specific permission, the app will only have read access to those type of media files.
In previous versions, the file access was a common “media access” permission. This allowed access to all types of files in one go.
There is also improvement in the audio routing APIs. Error reporting will also improve on apps that generate keys.
Who can get the update
You would need a supported Google Pixel phone to get the beta version. Here’s a list of supported Pixel models:
- 4 and 4 XL
- 4a and 4a (5G)
- 5 and 5a
- 6 and 6 Pro
If you have one of these phones, you can enroll your device on Android Beta Program website.
After enrolling your device, you should get an over-the-air update of Android 13 beta 1 release in a few hours. Future beta releases and the final release of Android 13 will automatically be notified on your device.
You can read more about Android 13 on the Google official android site.
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