The 7 Best Android 13 Features You Should Check Right Away

2022-09-09 23:38:51 By : Mr. Jason Xia

So you have got yourself some Tiramisu. Of the Android variety, we mean. We can argue endlessly as to whether Google should have stuck to giving “sweet” names to its Android versions instead of going the number way, but what cannot be denied is that Android 13 comes with a number of new features that add a lot to your smartphone experience.

So if you have got Android 13 on your phone, whether in final or in beta form, there is a lot you can do on your device that you could not in the past. A lot of the changes that Android 13 brings are tweaks below the software surface that need you to do nothing, such as apps now being all super nice and polite and asking permission to send you notifications. Still, there are some features that you need to activate or actually use to realize that they exist.

So if you have got a slice of Android Tiramisu, here are seven things you simply must do to get a real taste of the Android Thirteen life:

Let’s start from the home screen itself. Google had brought in some “Basic Colors” to its wallpapers as a part of the Material You interface that it introduced with Android 12.

Well, it has expanded that portfolio with 16 new colors, seven of which are single tones and nine dual tones. Yes, you might have your own collection of third-party apps or maybe want to park a picture of your favorite fur baby out there, but we would recommend you give the new collection a try. There are some quirky and rather interesting options out there.

Or just long press on the home screen and choose Wallpaper & Style, and carry on.

In Android 13, you can make the app icons play nice with the wallpaper in terms of shade. So you can have app icons that blend in with the wallpaper you choose in Step 1. Just remember that this will not happen with third-party wallpapers at the moment (at least it did not happen on our Pixel 6a) or any picture that you choose to place as your wallpaper.

The app developers also have to support this feature so that their app icons can blend in, so as of now, you end up with some apps (mainly Google ones) changing shade to be like the wallpaper, and many third-party ones still being their normal colors.

Hopefully, this should change in the coming days as more developers discover the delight of icons that look as if they are a part of the wallpaper. Even now, it is super cool to try out.

You can also reach Wallpaper & style by simply long pressing on your phone’s home screen and then turning on the Themed icons.

There’s a language for every app in Android 13. So if you wish to search in English but read news in Spanish and browse YouTube in Afrikaans… well, you can do so.

Yes, even after you have set a System language in the installation process.

So you can have apps in different languages on your phone. Perfect for those multilingual types. Once again, the app developers have to support this feature for you to be able to use it. As of now, Google’s apps support this.

Yes, you could always scan QR codes from Android devices, but Android 13 makes it even easier to do so. You do not have to open any app or even the camera. All you need to do is pull down the notification bar (Google calls it a notification shade), and a QR code scanner will be there. In fact, you can even swipe down from the lock screen to access it.

Related: How to Scan QR Code from Image on Android

As writers and editors, our personal favorite Android 13 feature is the improved clipboard. Now you can not only copy and paste text from one app to another, but you can also actually edit the text before pasting it. This is incredibly handy for adding notes and references to text or even making corrections and forwarding them. Researchers will love this too.

If you are one of those who is obsessed with vibrations and haptics, then you are likely to consider Android 13 a gift from the gods of tech.

Android 13 has a whole new Sounds and Vibrations section, which lets you control the level of vibrations for events like calls, notifications, and alarms. You can also change levels of touch feedback (such as when you are typing or simply tapping the screen)and media-related vibrations.

Our favorite feature, though, is the option to set the phone to vibrate for a while before starting to ring – it is a great option to have if you do not want your phone to ring loudly and do not want to put it totally on silent or DND either.

One of the most iconic features of the Pixel series is the large double-line clock that appears on the lock screen. Well, even the most iconic features can get tiresome after a while, and we guess Google realized that because, with Android 13, you get an option to turn off that massive two-lined clock and revert to a simple one in the top corner. Those wanting a cleaner lock screen now can have one! Relax, you can bring back the biggie clock later on if you wish.

This is Android, so of course, there will be some hidden goodies inside it. So far, only one has been discovered, and it is kinda cute and bubbly. Literally.

Wonder why Google didn’t include THESE as wallpapers!

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