Android 13 is officially releasing today

Google has announced that Android 13—this year’s main Android update—is officially launching today for its Pixel smartphones. The annual update will be officially released a little earlier than usual, following the releases of Android 12 in October of last year and Android 11 in September of the following year.

If you’ve been following the beta releases of Android 13, you may be aware with the list of updates that will be included with this year’s version of Android. The first developer beta of Android 13 showed us the ability to change non-Google app icons to match your homescreen wallpaper, a new permission to reduce notification spam, and a new choice to restrict which of your photographs and videos an app may access.

We stated in January that Google intended to spend this year catching up with Apple’s ecosystem connections, and the official release of Android 13 provides more proof of this. The update adds support for spatial audio with head tracking, a function similar to Apple’s AirPods that makes sounds seem to be originating from a fixed place in space when you move your head while wearing compatible headphones. The specific headphones this will work with aren’t specified in today’s post, although Google has previously stated that it will be updating its Pixel Buds Pro to include spatial audio compatibility.

Second, similar to iMessage on the Mac, you can stream messages from programs like Google Messages directly to a Chromebook. Another function was described by Google in January. One of Google’s advertising materials shows this operating with the messaging app Signal in addition to the firm’s own Messages app, and the company claims the feature will work with “many of your other favorite messaging apps.” A feature that enables content to be copied from an Android phone and pasted on an Android tablet is also included in the update.

A media player that adapts its appearance based on what you’re listening to, support for Bluetooth Low Energy for better sound quality at lower bitrates and reduced latency, improved multitasking on large-screen devices with drag and drop support for multitasking, and improved palm rejection when using styluses are some additional features of Android 13.

The Pixel devices that will receive the Android 13 upgrade today aren’t specifically included in Google’s announcement, but beta versions of the operating system have been made available for all Pixel models, including the recently announced Pixel 6A. Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, HMD, Motorola, Realme, Sony, Xiaomi, and Asus devices will all receive the Android upgrade “later this year,” according to Google’s Sameer Samat in today’s blog post. Visit Google’s post for additional information on the changes that will be included in the update.