2022’s major Android up-date, Android 13, is formally releasing now for Google’s Pixel handsets, the search giant has revealed. The annual update is getting an official release a little earlier than typical, after Android 12’s launch in October 2021 as well as the Android 11 launch back in September of 2020.
The selection of upgrades arriving with this year’s edition of Android is very likely to be familiar if you’ve been staying up to date with Android 13’s beta releases. There’s the feature to individualize non-Google app icons to suit your homescreen wallpaper that we observed in Android 13’s first developer preview, a new permission to reduce notification spam, as well as a new option to control which of your photos and videos an app can gain access to.
The revision features assistance for spatial audio with head tracking, which is designed to make noises seem as though they’re coming from a fixed point in space when you move your head whilst using compatible headphones, very similar to a function Apple delivers for its AirPods. Today’s article doesn’t say precisely which headphones this will work with, but Google earlier announced it would be revising its Pixel Buds Pro to deliver support for spatial audio.
Furthermore, there’s the potential to stream messages from apps like Google Messages directly to a Chromebook, comparable to iMessage on the Mac. It’s a further capability that Google revealed in January. Alongside its own Messages app, one of Google’s promotional properties also shows this working with the messaging app Signal, as well as the company explains the feature will function with “a number of your other beloved messaging apps.” The upgrade in addition includes a feature that lets you copy content from an Android device to be pasted on an Android tablet and the other way around.
Other Android 13 attributes include the ability to set languages on a per-app basis, a redesigned media player that adjusts its look based on what you’re listening to, support for Bluetooth Low Energy for much better sound quality at lower bitrates and also reduced latency, enhanced multitasking on large-screen units with drag and drop support for multitasking, and better palm rejection when utilizing styluses.
This Android update could be coming to products from additional producers such as Oppo, Samsung, OnePlus, HMD, Motorola, Realme, Sony, Xiaomi, and also Asus later this year, Google’s Sameer Samat says in the headline post. For additional particulars on the improvements arriving in the upgrade, look at Google’s blog post over here
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