When Android 13 officially arrives this summer, we’ll definitely see a bunch of confused heads.
Nor will it be due to heat-induced brain fog and / or dry scalp – at least not completely. Instead, this fresh crop of confusion will stem from the fact that Google’s latest and greatest Android version, after months of building and anticipation, is not going to look much like most Android-owned organisms.
It sounds weird, I know, but it’s true: For anyone carrying a phone that was already running last year’s Android 12 software, Android 13 is proving to be an incredibly subtle, almost not even noticeable change – in at least at a surface level.
That does not mean that Android 13 is not significant. In fact, far from it: This year’s Android update may be one of Google’s most crucial, platform-changing releases and the rare arrival that really changes the course of where the platform is heading from a larger image perspective.
But somewhat paradoxically, it seems more and more that the bulk of that impact will be almost completely invisible to most of us bare mortals. And consequently, when Android 13 actually shows up in your sweaty person’s paws, your first reaction will probably be something along the lines of: “Wait – this is that?! “
It’s a tale of two operating systems in one and a type of dual identity we’ve never quite experienced on Android. But if you spend a few minutes understanding what’s going on now, you’ll be far more prepared for what’s coming – and far less likely to find yourself scratching your suspiciously soft lump in confusion.
Android 13 Identity # 1: The Essential Page
First of all, a little important context: This year’s Android release cycle was unusual, even before Android 13 came into the picture.
Back in October last year, a matter of weeks after the arrival of Android 12, Google announced the development of a new “feature drop” update, which it called Android 12L.
The update, which reached completion and began rolling out to a handful of devices in March, was basically a 0.1-style update – so Android 12.1 or maybe even Android 13.-01, to be even more precise (and maybe just a little naughty).
Like Android 13, Android 12L did not look like much to anyone with an average Android phone. The update had a handful of small tweaks and adjustments to the experience on Google Pixel devices – the primary products that received it – but we’re talking about the kind of super-subtle stuff that no normal person would ever notice or give a gram of attention to digest .
Again, though, Android 12L was significant – superb. It was basically a foundation-building advantage that established the foundation of what Android 13 is accomplishing. And it’s a whole new approach to how Android looks and works in a large screen environment.
For tablets and also foldable phones, Android 13 and its 12L-supplied frame will be straightforward transforming. The software will introduce an interface that is actually optimized for use on large screens, with different elements on different halves of the screen and a host of new desktop-like multitasking tools – including a smart Chrome OS-inspired taskbar that gives you access to your favorite apps from anywhere and even drag them up to create an on-the-fly split-screen setup.
On top of that – and even more significantly – Android 13 will effectively create a whole new one category of Google-flavored devices. The software has a number of features that allow tablets to be treated as shared devices when docked, with access to a specific set of “common apps” in that context, and then lets multiple users pick up the tablets and sign in in their own personal profiles.
Signs suggest that Google’s own upcoming Pixel tablet could take advantage of these possibilities and act as a new kind of hybrid mashup – a cross between a screwed-up Smart Display and a traditional tablet that would be unlike anything else out there today.
And all that is because of Android 13 and the concepts it introduces in the operating system.
But then there is Other things page of Android 13 – the page that anyone with a non-foldable phone will almost certainly see.
And – well …
Android 13 Identity # 2: The Subtle Page
I’ve been using the latest Android 13 betas on my extra Pixel 4a phone for several weeks now, and let me tell you: By and large, the software looks, feels, and works almost exactly like Android 12.
It’s actually so true that I would be shocked if a regular, non-tech-obsessed and detail-seeking phone owner noticed any real difference upon receiving the update.
Now it’s always possible for Google to add some extra front-facing elements to Android 13 between now and the time of final release. I originally assumed it was inevitable, given how subtle the software changes are on the front of the phone.
But typically, the version of a beta release that Google is showing at its I / O conference ends up being quite similar to the one sent later that year. And more and more, it seems that Android 13’s biggest effect is all that it brings to the big screen side of the Android ecosystem.
To be clear: On the phone front, there will definitely be improvements. For example, Android 13 allows you to drag a notification into the main area of your screen to open the associated app in a split screen mode – a nice new touch that makes Android’s multi-window system feel like a lot more built-in and prominent part of the operating system.
But let’s be honest: most people will never notice it or be aware of its existence. The same goes for all the Android 13’s enhancements under the hood – the undeniably important privacy and security enhancements that will make Android even more effective at protecting your data and keeping your device safe.
That kind of is present in virtually all Android updates, and that’s a big part of why Android updates are absolutely important, even if you is it not excited about what is on the surface.
Yet it is impossible to deny that the elements at the surface level are what most ordinary mammals see and associate with a new piece of software. And with Android 13, we have two completely different images in shape: the one that will bring a dramatic, night-and-day change to the tablet front and open the door to a whole new type of Android device experience and the one that lands with a underplayed thump on the side of the phone and seems like a lot of rubbish to most Android worshipers.
I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a single software update take on such drastically different identities at the same time as this one. It’s a bold move on the part of Google and one that could lead to even more divergent paths within Android in the future.
So far, one thing is for sure: the arrival of Android 13 this summer will mark the beginning of a new era for this platform in constant development – even though it may feel completely irrelevant to most of us at the moment.
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