Developers and beta testers for Android 13 Beta 3 are now in negotiations, with Beta 3, which allows developers to focus on compatibility testing and quality for their applications ahead of the official release of Android 13 later this year.
According to Google''s VP of Engineering, Dave Burke, Beta 3 has brought Android 13 to Platform Stability, a key development milestone in which developers and app-facing behaviors are final. Google releases developer previews and beta versions of upcoming Android versions months ahead of their release, allowing developers and publishers to update and modify their applications to support new features and enhancements.
The upcoming Android 13 release will include new features that focus on privacy and security, as well as enhanced support for larger screens on tablets and foldable devices. Users will also have access to an improved photo picker when sharing images, a new notification permission for apps, and the possibility to specify a different language for a specific app.
Google is urging developers to test their apps compatibility with the new version of Android, including new guidelines, such as the possibility for sending notifications. Apps targeting Android 13 will have to ask a user for permission before sending them notifications. This feature will be useful when a user copies passwords or credit card information.
Android 13 improves on tablet enhancements implemented by Google with the Android 12L release, such as standard multi-window support for all applications. Developers have also been asked to check if their apps are optimized for tablets or foldable devices, including support for different screen orientations, and optimizing the camera preview for larger screens in multi-window or split-screen mode.
Due to potential stability difficulties, developers and beta testers who want to test out Android 13 Beta 3 will need to enroll their Pixel 4 and newer smartphone in the beta program. Several smartphone manufacturers have also collaborated with Google to offer Android 13 betas to select devices. This may be done on their primary smartphones.
