Following the stated monthly rhythm for these early releases, the second and possibly final Android 13 Developer Preview release is already rolling out. The new notification permission, better text wrapping and line heights for various languages, and Bluetooth LE Audio compatibility are among the features Google has highlighted in this update. On our own, we've seen a number of improvements, including a new media player, updated branding for Do Not Disturb, and a plethora of colour options for Material You. Phones running Android 13 DP1 should receive an OTA upgrade to the new release soon, and images for the Pixel 4 and later are now available for manual installation.
We've known about the new notification permissions in Android 13 since last year (and we even saw them in action exclusively earlier this year), but it appears that they're finally live as of DP2, and developers can begin updating and testing their apps. Apps that wish to better respect user privacy when they no longer need access to something can use a new API that allows them to downgrade permissions.
Non-Latin scripts (i.e. languages that don't employ letters that look like the ones you're reading now) will be clipped less frequently and positioned better in Android 13 DP2. If you're used to using phonetic inputs for your language (such as Japanese or Chinese), Android 13 DP2 includes a new text conversion feature.
The new media player and output selection are two of the most noticeable improvements in DP2. It's a far better design than Android 12, with more controls and a beautiful artwork-based design.
The power and settings shortcuts in the notification drawer have been changed, making it easier to find and press on each symbol than before.
There's now colour vector font support, with system emoji now using the newly supported format for faster and sharper rendering, as well as Bluetooth LE Audio compatibility for longer battery life while listening to music on supported devices.
Developers are recommended to begin testing for API updates and deprecated functionalities as soon as possible. Changes to app compatibility can still be evaluated separately using Developer Options' named section.
If you haven't already installed Android 13 DP1, you'll have to manually install DP2 to test it out. It's purposefully not a straightforward procedure until Google flips everything over to beta in April - though who knows what will happen with the Android Beta Program then, considering that Google is also experimenting Quarterly Platform Releases alongside it.
If you need help installing the Android 13 Developer Previews, we offer a step-by-step instruction. However, because these early builds sometimes have flaws, we highly advise against installing any of the Developer Previews on a "daily driver" phone. If you aren't comfortable troubleshooting issues on your own if and when things go wrong, don't install it.
We're still looking at everything new in Android 13 DP2, so stay tuned for additional details in the coming weeks.
The new developer preview release is available for download on Google's site, featuring images for the Pixel 4 series, Pixel 4a series, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, and Pixel 6 series.
Here's everything new in Android 13 DP2
- Do Not Disturb mode on Android has been renamed "Priority mode," a modification that should clear things up in the future. Aside from the new name, the settings remain the same.
- A new privacy shortcut has been added to Quick Settings, albeit it currently only links to a new menu with indicators for the camera, microphone, and location. We'll have to wait for a future beta to learn more because it's clearly unfinished.
- The new media player and output selector in Android 13 are now here, and they're just as beautiful as we'd hoped. The new UI is a little quirky at first, but it makes controlling your music and pairing new Bluetooth speakers much easier.
- In Android 13 DP2, the power and settings shortcuts have a new location. They should be a lot easier to find, and they should also be easier to access on larger phones.
- Android has resurrected its groove touch indicators! With Android 13 DP2, you may enable touch while recording your screen once again, a useful feature that was removed with the 12L upgrade.
- Material Thanks to three new dynamic theme settings, you'll have a lot more colour options. Although they're now hidden behind some shell instructions, they should benefit anyone who found Google's Android 12 colours to be too bland.
- In Android 13 DP2, a new "kids mode" taskbar is hidden, and if manually triggered, it looks very different from the present gesture system. The home and back buttons are back, however you won't be able to access any recent apps with this UI.
- There are a few new vibration settings in Android 13 DP2, including a strange media haptics slider that doesn't seem to do anything yet. Could it have something to do with gaming, or could it be something else entirely?
- Google has consolidated its display and font size options into a single menu, allowing you to fine-tune your device's sizing settings without having to navigate between pages.
- After years of stagnation, the first meaningful improvements to Android's screen savers have arrived, despite recent leaks and in-development details indicating that change was on the way.
- Notification overflow on the lock screen has been reduced, with a bar that adapts to the number of icons in it rather than spanning the entire screen width.
- We've heard that some changes to the way Android uses screen savers were on the way, and with Android 13 DP2, we're getting our first look. This update features a whole new look for browsing screen savers, which is a considerable improvement over the previous version.
- Google has tweaked the way silent notifications appear on the lock screen, reducing the length of the bar for a more manageable experience.
- The app drawer symbol is making a comeback on Android's taskbar, but only on large-screen devices such as tablets. For it to appear, your device must have a DPI of greater than 600.
- Android 13 will get a nice split-screen feature from Android 12L, though it's still problematic at the moment. You'll be able to open numerous windows on your phone immediately from the notification tray if it makes it to a stable release.
