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Google Rolls Out Android 13 for Pixel Smartphones; Fixes Issues With the Fingerprint Scanner: All Details

Google Rolls Out Android 13 for Pixel Smartphones; Fixes Issues With the Fingerprint Scanner: All Details

Google will roll out Android 13 to more smartphones from other major brands later this year.

By Dhruv Raghav | Updated: 16 August 2022 11:55 IST

Highlights

Google will soon add message app mirroring feature
For tablets, Android 13 brings a new taskbar
Android 13 brings Bluetooth LE support

Google announced the rollout of Android 13 to Pixel smartphones on Monday. The company announced that the new OS version will be rolled out on Samsung, Xiaomi, Nokia, and more smartphones later this year. The Android 13 will let multilingual users assign specific languages to individual apps. It also comes with an updated media player that changes its appearance based on the music or podcast a user is listening to. According to the company, Android users will soon be able to mirror a messaging app from their handset to their Chromebook with the new OS version.

Android 13 availability

Google has announced that the tech giant has started rolling out the stable version of the Android 13 to its Pixel smartphones starting Monday. According to the changelog, the Pixel phones that are getting the update are Google Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a.

The Google Play Services website reveal that the Android 13 rollout for Google Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a contain a bootloader update that increments the anti-roll back version. This means that once updated, a user will not be roll back to Android 12. “After flashing an Android 13 build on these devices, you will not be able to flash older Android 12 builds,” the company said.

The company also said that later this year, the Android 13 update will be rolled out to other smartphones from brands including Samsung Galaxy, Asus, HMD (Nokia phones), iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, Vivo, Xiaomi, and more.

Android 13: What's new

Android 13 update for Pixel smartphones brings with it several bug fixes related to apps, Google Assistant, Audio, charging, and more. The most notable fix with the update seems to be for the Biometrics. Google said that the update fixes issue where the app crashes during fingerprint unlock, an eroor that occasionally didn't allow users to use fingerprint unlock when the notification shade was down. The company has also fixed an issue that didn't allow the face unlock feature to trigger. The update also includes improvements for the performance, stability, and reliability of the fingerprint scanner and its enrolment.

The Android 13 update for the Google Pixel phones also adds support for NFC payments in secondary profiles. It gets fixes for connectivity over Bluetooth, and for the camera. The company said that the touch screen palm detection and response has been improved with Android 13 on Pixel handsets. In the user interface, Google has worked on gesture navigation support with third-party launchers, along with the phone setup experience, according to the changelog.

Google revealed that the Android 13 update brings an “evolved look and style that builds on Material You”. This allows users to customise third-party apps to match the theme and colour with the wallpaper. The company is also adding the ability to assign specific languages to individual apps with the Android 13 update. Moreover, there is an updated media player with the latest OS update that changes its “look and feel” based on the type of music and podcast a user is listening to.

Android 13 brings more customisation features for Bedtime mode. In addition, it will enable users to choose specific images and videos they wish to let apps access. Now, with the new Android OS version, apps will have to seek “explicit” permission of the user to send notifications. The company has also announced that users will be soon able to mirror a messaging app from their phone to their Chromebook. Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) audio has too been added to Android 13 that allows a user to hear better synced audio with reduced delay, according to the company.

The new Android OS version brings the HDR video support for third-party camera apps. Users will now be able to copy-paste content from a phone to a table or vice-versa with the Android 13 update. For tablets, the Android 13 update brings a new, updated taskbar that is said to make multitasking easier. With the update, the tablets will now register touches from a user's palm and a stylus pen separately.

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Google Pixel 4a 5G

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.20-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 12.2-megapixel + 16-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 3885mAh

OS Android 11

Resolution 1080x2340 pixels

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Google Pixel 6

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.40-inch

Processor Google Tensor

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB

Battery Capacity 4614mAh

OS Android 12

Resolution 1080x2400 pixels

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Google Pixel 6a

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
IP67-rated design
Impressive cameras for photos
Vibrant OLED display
Stock Android 13 software

Bad
Plastic back is prone to scratches
60Hz display does not feel fluid
Cannot handle heavy gaming
Recorded video needs work
Relatively slow charging, no wireless charging
Battery life could be better

Read detailed Google Pixel 6a review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Google Tensor

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 12.2-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 4410mAh

OS Android 13

Resolution 1080x2400 pixels

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Google Pixel 5a 5G

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.34-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 12.2-megapixel + 16-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 4680mAh

OS Android 11

Resolution 1080x2400 pixels

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Google Pixel 6 Pro

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.70-inch

Processor Google Tensor

Front Camera 11.1-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 8GB, 12GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB

Battery Capacity 5003mAh

OS Android 12

Resolution 1440x3120 pixels

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Google Pixel 5

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.00-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 12.2-megapixel + 16-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 4080mAh

OS Android 11

Resolution 1080x2340 pixels

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Google Pixel 4a

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Reliable camera performance
Lean software with guaranteed updates
Stereo speakers
Vivid OLED display
Light, built well

Bad
Relatively low battery capacity
No ultra-wide camera

Read detailed Google Pixel 4a review

Display 5.81-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 12.2-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 3140mAh

OS Android 10

Resolution 1080x2340 pixels

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Google Pixel 4 XL

KEY SPECS
NEWS
Variants

Display 6.30-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 855

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 16-megapixel + 12.2-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 64GB

Battery Capacity 3700mAh

OS Android 10

Resolution 1440x3040 pixels

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Choose a variant

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Further reading: Google, Android 13, Android 12, Google Pixel 4 XL, Google Pixel 4a, Google Pixel 4a 5G, Google Pixel 5, Google Pixel 5a 5G, Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a, Google Pixel 6 Pro, Samsung, iQoo, Asus, Motorola, OnePlus, Realme, Sharp, Vivo, Xiaomi, Sony, Nokia