It did not arrive in August, as Google had announced, but about ten days later. More precisely: did not arrive in August, as Google had announcedbut for many, especially in Italy, it was only available for download about ten days later.
Let’s talk about Android 13, the newest version of the Mountain View smartphone operating system, which we have installed and used on the Pixel 6 we tested last February. We did it as any other person would do: waiting for it to be accessible without forcing, without entering the Beta program or having to switch from so-called factory images (that I’m here anyway).
One thing must be said before talking about Android 13: unlike Android 12 it is not a complete makeover (or an upheaval, according to some) but it is more a refinement than anything else. In short: it is a release of adjustment and refinement. That said, let’s see the 5 things we liked the most.
Tech Test
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Graphically improved
There are so many aesthetic details that have changed in Android 13, some barely noticeable: the lower bar (the one for multitasking) is slightly longer and the button for access the Settings from the notification tab it has been moved lower, so as to be more easily accessible even on large screens.
Above all, there are more colors for customization (16 grouped into two different categories, instead of the previous 4 for each) and the functionality of the themed iconswhich fit the style of the wallpaper – it pretty much only works with Google apps, but it’s still an interesting option.
That “nice play bar”
Google calls it just like that, but it’s not just that: it’s all the media player accessible from the notification curtain that has been updated. If you are listening to a song on Spotify, you see the cover of the album it is from, the colors of the widget are coordinated with those of the background, there are easier commands to transfer playback from one device to another and a new animation for the “nice playback bar”. Which is interactive as well.
Copy-paste with the trick
When copying a piece of text, Android 13 shows it a small preview at the bottom left: it is the same thing that happens when you take a screenshot, and in the same way you can click and take action quickly. You can delete parts of the text and add others, and once you click on Finish, that will be the text you are going to paste, regardless of what was copied. What’s its purpose? To put together parts of a long text, separated from each other by other superfluous text, which can thus be removed.
Apps that ask for permission
An important novelty to live more peacefully: from now on, any app (any, even the messaging ones) must ask for permission to send notifications immediately after installation. If you deny that permission, the app is prevented from disturbing at any level.
Similarly, i access permissions to the phone’s internal memory are more limited and better defined: if an app is to be able to access photos, it does not need to be able to access videos and music files as well, so the latter two permissions can be denied.
Apps that speak different languages
A very requested and perfect feature for those who are multilingual and maybe have set a main language for the operating system and the phone and yet use another one for some apps (such as messaging): directly from the Settings you can choose specific languages for specific appsregardless of the system one.