Android 13 just took a big step forward to its release date

Google announced on Wednesday it has released the third public beta test for Android 13 exclusively on Google Pixel phones. While this latest beta doesn’t have a laundry list of new features to play with, it does mark the first time Android 13 has reached platform stability — signaling that it’s one giant step closer to its public release later this year.

Platform stability means that developer APIs and other details, including app compatibility and Android 13’s overall quality, are all being finalized. The latest update puts the newest Android OS on track with the release calendar Google shared back in February when it released the first developer preview for Android 13.

A phone running Android 13. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google plans to release Android 13 publicly around August and September of this year, with the beta program expected to run through (at least) the end of July. Android 12 had four beta tests last year and didn’t reach platform stability until August 2021. That makes Android 13 reaching platform stability this June a remarkable feat — and potentially signals a more reliable OS update to look forward to.

Android 12 was released last October and marked one of the biggest Android updates in history. The update offers a plethora of new features, the most important one being Material You, a customization feature that allows users to pull the colors from their wallpaper and create themes for their apps and interface. Android 13 will build more to that feature, giving users more color options than what’s currently available in Android 12.

Android 13 will also come with new runtime permissions for notifications, which makes Android apps (like games and shopping apps) ask users for permission to send them notifications — curtailing the amount of notification spam that has been distracting users for years. It will also bring a new API for Clipboard, which will hide sensitive information from other apps, such as passwords and credit card information, so that would-be hackers and other malicious parties won’t get their hands on it.

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