Each year around this time, we get the opportunity to see the future vision of Android. We’re up to version 13 this year and, with the launch of the developer preview, we get confirmation of the codename Tiramisu.
The usual warning applies to the Android Developer Preview:
This is an early preview, not all features are finished and some may simply not work. Don’t load the developer preview on your primary device unless you understand and are prepared to face the risks and potential loss of functionality.
There’s a number of new theming options:
Material You dynamic color beyond Google apps to all app icons, letting users opt into icons that inherit the tint of their wallpaper and other theme preferences.
This is just the start visually though with a heap of other changes in the preview which we’re really only just starting to look at. After all, this is a developer preview to offer feedback to Google on the changes, as well as adapting their own apps to be compliant with the incoming changes.
This includes:
- A photo picker API allowing users to share photos automatically, through Google apps or third parties securely.
- Nearby Wi-Fi changes will make connecting newer phones to devices like DIY secuirty devices that need to manage your Wi-Fi connection
- A range of new developer tools that can make building apps and better integration easier
With so much that changes behind the scenes, we’ll see the true benefit once the Android 13 final release starts rolling out to users. Until then, if you take the plunge let us know what your experience is like.
