Google releases first developer version of Android 13

Google has rolled out the first developer version of Android 13. It includes a new photo picker, an api that makes it easier to add buttons to the Quick Settings menu, and the option to customize all app icons to Material You hues.

Google mainly focuses on privacy and security with Android 13, according to the announcement. In this first developer version of Android 13, the company is introducing a new photo picker that should help to securely share photos and videos with third-party apps. “Through the document picker, Android users have long been able to share specific documents with an app without that app immediately accessing all media on the device,” it sounds. The same principle is now applied by Google in the photo browser. Apps using the corresponding api will not be able to access any other media on the device.

The photo chooser not only shows photos and videos that are stored locally, but also image material that is in the cloud. The photo chooser will be rolled out to Android devices running version 11 or higher as an update via Google Play, as part of the MediaProvider module.

New permissions, APIs and changing app icons

Android 13 also gets a new WiFi permission, NEARBY_WIFI_DEVICES. With this permission, apps will be able to connect to other Wi-Fi devices without having to share the device’s location and grant permission via Android. Apps that want to connect to nearby WiFi devices, but do not need location data, can opt for this runtime permission.

Developers of apps that can generate their own Quick Settings buttons can use a new api in Android 13 to call up a banner in their app that allows the own settings button to be added directly to the Quick Settings panel. This eliminates the need for users to exit the app to add the button to the panel at the top of the screen.

App icons from developers can now also change color shade in Android 13 thanks to Material You. Previously, only Google’s default app icons could adapt to the theme colors that the operating system chose for users based on the background image. Google states that developers must provide a monochrome app icon for this and make a change in the .xml file.

First developer version Android 13

Project Mainline

Google states that it has bet even more on Project Mainline with Android 13. This allows Google to update parts of the Android operating system via Google Play, just as if they were apps. We can also bring the photo chooser and other changes to older versions of Android and with Android 13 we have added new modules to Project Mainline, such as the bluetooth module and ultrawideband module.

Google expects to roll out its second developer version of Android 13 next month. The first public beta should appear in April, after which the second beta will see the light of day in May. The company estimates that there will be platform stability from June; then the third beta is expected. The release of Android 13 is not expected until after July of this year.

Timeline development Android 13 according to Google