Android 13, which is currently under testing, is on the way. Now, it’s much closer than it’s ever been.
With a final release that is tipped to be just a few months away, if previous releases are anything to go by, we are almost getting there in terms of feature accumulation, leaving no room for surprises when a final release candidate hits the various devices that have been part and parcel of the testing. Locally (for devices that are officially available on sale in our market), this has been the Nokia X20 and the Xiaomi 12.
Whereas realme had promised to release its GT 2 smartphone locally at the start of 2022, we have no news of that ever happening and we don’t know what the status of that is. And even then, only the Pro model was guaranteed a place in the company’s Android 13 beta program.
Tecno, one of the leading smartphone brands locally, also has a device in the Android 13 beta program but that is not officially offered for purchase in the country, leaving us with just the two devices above. Of course, for those who know their way around things, they have access to a number of devices that are not officially offered by their makers and partners here but which are part and parcel of the Android 13 beta program.
Now, there’s beta 3 of Android 13.
Beta 3 comes just a month after the release of beta 2 (and a minor bump, beta 2.1).
Whereas beta 2 focused on housekeeping issues – fixing bugs and all – beta 3 “… takes Android 13 to Platform Stability, which means that the developer APIs and all app-facing behaviors are now final”, according to Google.
What that means, in simple terms, is that to everyday Android users, there’s not much to look out for as the update is more developer-focused (developers are exactly the reason a developer preview/beta program exists). The update provides developers with a look at how their apps will look like in the final Android 13 release at launch and how they can make final preparations for their apps to take advantage of all the new stuff and make sure they comply with all the stringent requirements before making the jump to API Level 33 for good.
For instance, beta 3 release notes have developers being asked to make sure their implementation of the new clipboard overlay introduced in beta 1 doesn’t lead to sensitive user data (like passwords) being displayed on the clipboard.
For the rest of us, we can continue looking forward to all the features coming in Android 13.
