Android 13 Beta 1 is currently available for compatible Pixels

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Google has published the first public beta edition of Android 13 after the release of two Developer Previews in February and March. And, as is customary with Android betas, this one is a breeze to set up and experiment with.

image credits: android authority

That’s all part of the plan, since there should be no major, show-stopping issues left by now. Although this is the first of four scheduled betas before the official release later this year, you are still likely to encounter several difficulties.

As long as you have a compatible Google Pixel smartphone, you can simply go over to the Android Beta Program website here and enrol your device in testing the Android 13 Beta 1.

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After then, an over-the-air upgrade with Android 13 Beta 1 should arrive shortly (up to a few hours). In the same way that you get regular software updates, Android 13 betas and final versions will be sent to your device over the air as well. First and subsequent betas of Android 13 will be sent over the air to Android 13 Developer Preview users.

Audio routeing APIs have been updated, and new permissions have been added to media files in Android 13 Beta 1. Depending on the file type, apps now have three distinct permissions to access media on your phone. These are for pictures and photographs (such as photos), videos (such as movies), and audio (such as audio files). For a long time, all of these were combined into a single “media access” permission, allowing the programme to access any form of material. However, this is no longer the case.

It will only have read access to the specific media file type(s) if you allow one of these new permissions, and nothing else. It will be necessary for developers to switch to this new permissions paradigm when their applications target Android 13.

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Audio routeing enhancements and enhanced error reporting for applications that produce keys are also included, although they are more likely to be of interest to app developers than the general public.

At the Google I/O developer conference next month, the company is expected to provide additional information about Android 13 as well as new features, and the second beta is expected to be released at the same time.

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