Android 13 is here — for some Google Pixel phones

Overview

Android 13 was pushed to the Android open source project (AOSP) on Monday 15th August 2022. At the same time Google made available images for Google Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6a.

Security update available — Android 13

More personalised, private and designed to work across multiple devices.
New features include: Expanded themed app icons, an updated media player with album artwork and a fun playback bar, Per-app language preferences, Faster hyphenation, Text Conversion APIs, Improved line heights for non-latin scripts, Improved Japanese text wrapping, Unicode library updates, Color vector fonts, Quick Settings placement API, Clipboard preview, Predictive back gesture, Bluetooth LE Audio, MIDI 2.0, Programmable shaders, Choreographer improvements, Anticipatory audio routing, Safer exporting of context-registered receivers, Photo picker, New runtime permission for nearby Wi-Fi devices, New permission to use exact alarms, Developer downgradable permissions, APK Signature Scheme v3.1, Better error reporting in Keystore and KeyMint, Improved support for tablets and large-screen devices

Installing on Google Pixel 4a 5G

TL:DR — Android 13 is here for Pixel 4 and later devices from Google. It updated my Pixel 4a 5G over the wifi without any obvious issues, and kept all my data and account settings intact.

Contents

• Android 13 is here — for some Google Pixel phones

Overview

Android 13 was pushed to the Android open source project (AOSP) on Monday 15th August 2022. At the same time Google made available images for Google Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6a.

Security update available — Android 13

Android 13 is here for some Google Pixel phones

Contents

Overview

Android 13 is here for some Google Pixel phones

Contents

Last upgradeable version of Android for unsupported Pixel phones

First run onboarding screens

Expanded themed app icons

For Google Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6a

But not for Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL

Last upgradeable version of Android for unsupported Pixel phones

First run onboarding screens

Lockscreen, Tips, Essentials

Expanded themed app icons

Android 13 is here for some Google Pixel phones

Contents

• Overview

• Android 13 is here for some Google Pixel phones

• Contents

• Last upgradeable version of Android for unsupported Pixel phones

• First run onboarding screens

• Expanded themed app icons

For Google Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6a

A wrinkle is that on the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6a the bootloader is updated with an incement to the anti-rollback version which means that once updated, these devices can not be downgraded.

But not for Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL

All previous Pixel phones are now frozen at their last supported release of android and no longer eligible for regular security updates. It is probably time to retire them on security grounds even though they are likely perfectly serviceable. My Pixel 2 XL for example is on Android 11, works perfectly, and is a modern great phone. It misses out on 5G but 5G is rare where I live. It could do with wireless charging but that is about the only major missing feature for me. But with Android 13 out, it is now two releases out of step which means its time to trade it in.

These devices no longer receive seucurity updates from Google. You may be able to find third party builds of later or perhaps specialist versions of Android, however from a security and official point of view these devices are all obsolete now.

Last upgradeable version of Android for unsupported Pixel phones

It probably should be noted that even older Google phones like the Nexus 6p cannot be upgraded beyond their final supported Android OS upgrade either. The Nexus 6p was upgradable to Android 8.1. Again it still works well but has no recent security updates.

First run onboarding screens

Lockscreen, Tips, Essentials

Pixel Tips are shown on first run after the installation completes. Installation took around 20 minutes via WiFi. The Tips provide a comprehensive introduction to the new features in Android 13 and perhaps some of the Pixel features that might have been missed or forgotten. It is very well organised and just the idea for bite sized consumption during moments when you have a little time to explore your phone.

Expanded themed app icons

Some of the launcher icons on this launch screen from apps from Google! have not been updated with the necessary layers, so their icon is neither consistent with other icons displayed on the phone, nor can it support visual effects. To an end user they look out of date in the launcher.