The best features of Android 13 so far

An image of Android 13 launcher on a Pixel 6 Pro

Picture: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Android 13s first beta is here, and it’s ready to try on your Pixel smartphone. The beta comes to us after two developer previews, and although some of the cracks have been worked out enough to use this version of the software as a daily driver, keep in mind that the code is still under construction.

Please note that this is not the final version of the beta software and we will have at least two more updates before the full release of Android 13 sometime this fall. If you do not want to install it now, you can wait until things get a little more refined in the next update.

If you go for the beta, spend some time trying the new one. Some of the changes are obvious, like Android’s improved media playback window and more options for Material You. And many parts of the interface have been adjusted a bit to get a better user experience, such as. to bring smart home controls to the lock screen. I went through Android 13 to find all sorts of these big and small feature changes. Here’s what has struck me so far.