The following table lists all documented features and behavior changes that might affect app developers. Use this list to find changes that affect you, and then click on the corresponding link to read the documentation.
| Category | Type | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | New features and APIs |
HDR video capture Apps can use Camera2 APIs to capture and preview HDR video content. |
| Connectivity | Change (apps targeting 13+) |
BluetoothAdapter#enable() and BluetoothAdapter#disable() deprecated For apps targeting Android 13 (API level 33) or higher, the BluetoothAdapter#enable() and BluetoothAdapter#disable() methods are deprecated and always return false. |
| Core functionality | Change (all apps) |
Legacy copy of speech service implementation removed Apps should use the device's default provider for SpeechService, rather than hard-coding a specific app. |
| Core functionality | New features and APIs |
OpenJDK 11 updates Android 13 includes a number of updates to align with the OpenJDK 11 LTS release. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Themed app icons Apps can provide monochromatic app icons that can be styled on a user's device using Material You dynamic color. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Per-app language preferences Apps can use new platform APIs to set or get a user's preferred, per-app language. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Faster hyphenation Android 13 drastically improves hyphenation performance for TextView instances. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Text Conversion APIs In Android 13, apps can call the new text conversion API so users who speak languages with phonetic lettering input methods can find what they're looking for faster and easier. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Improved line heights for non-latin scripts Android 13 improves the display of non-Latin scripts (such as Tamil, Burmese, Telugu, and Tibetan) by using a line height that’s adapted for each language. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Improved Japanese text wrapping TextViews can now wrap text by Bunsetsu (the smallest unit of words that sounds natural) or phrases—instead of by character—for more polished and readable Japanese applications. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Unicode library updates Android 13 adds the latest improvements, fixes, and changes that are included in Unicode ICU 70, Unicode CLDR 40, and Unicode 14.0. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Color vector fonts Android 13 adds rendering support for COLR version 1 fonts and updates the system emoji to the COLRv1 format. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Quick Settings placement API Apps that provide custom tiles can make those tiles available in Quick Settings. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Clipboard preview Starting in Android 13, apps utilize a standard visual confirmation whenever content is added to the clipboard. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Predictive back gesture Android 13 introduces a predictive back gesture for Android devices such as phones, large screens, and foldables. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
Bluetooth LE Audio Android 13 adds built-in support for LE Audio, so developers should get the new capabilities for free on compatible devices. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
MIDI 2.0 Android 13 adds support for the new MIDI 2.0 standard, including the ability to connect MIDI 2.0 hardware through USB. |
| Developer productivity and tools | New features and APIs |
ART optimizations Android 13 improves performance and efficiency for all apps through updates to the ART runtime. |
| Graphics | New features and APIs |
Programmable shaders Apps can use programmable RuntimeShader objects to create advanced effects. |
| Graphics | New features and APIs |
Choreographer improvements Additional methods in the Choreographer and ASurfaceControl APIs provide apps with more information about the possible frame timelines and add more context to SurfaceFlinger about the frame lifecycle. |
| Media | New features and APIs |
Anticipatory audio routing Apps can use new APIs to identify how their audio is going to be routed. |
| Performance and battery | Change (all apps) |
Task Manager Android 13 allows users to stop foreground services from the notification drawer, regardless of target SDK version. |
| Performance and battery | Change (all apps) |
Improve prefetch job handling using JobScheduler In Android 13, the system now tries to determine the next time an app will be launched, and uses that estimation to run prefetch jobs. |
| Performance and battery | Change (all apps) |
Battery Resource Utilization Android 13 introduces Battery Resource Utilization, which provides several ways to better manage device battery life. |
| Privacy and security | Change (all apps) |
Runtime permission for notifications Android 13 introduces a new runtime notification permission: POST_NOTIFICATIONS. |
| Privacy and security | Change (all apps) |
Hide sensitive content from clipboard Apps that allow users to copy sensitive content to the clipboard must add a flag to hide that content from clipboard content previews. |
| Privacy and security | Change (all apps) |
Migrate away from shared user ID Apps that use the deprecated android:sharedUserId
attribute and no longer depend on the attribute's functionality should migrate to other mechanisms. |
| Privacy and security | Change (apps targeting 13+) |
New runtime permission for nearby Wi-Fi devices When using certain Wi-FI APIs, apps that don't require access to a device's physical location should strongly assert this using a new permission. |
| Privacy and security | Change (apps targeting 13+) |
Use of body sensors in the background requires new permission If your app targets Android 13 and requires access to body sensor information while running in the background, you must declare the new BODY_SENSORS_BACKGROUND permission. |
| Privacy and security | Change (apps targeting 13+) |
Granular media permissions Apps must now use separate permissions to request access to different types of media, instead of the READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission.
|
| Privacy and security | New features and APIs |
Safer exporting of context-registered receivers To help make runtime receivers safer, Android 13 allows you to specify whether a particular broadcast receiver in your app should be exported and visible to other apps on the device. |
| Privacy and security | New features and APIs |
Photo picker Apps should use a new photo picker to provide a safe, built-in way for users to select media files without granting access to their entire media library. |
| Privacy and security | New features and APIs |
New runtime permission for nearby Wi-Fi devices Apps can request a new permission to discover nearby Wi-Fi devices without accessing the device's location. |
| Privacy and security | New features and APIs |
New permission to use exact alarms When targeting Android 13, apps such as calendars and alarms can use the new USE_EXACT_ALARM install-time permission to set
exact alarms. |
| Privacy and security | New features and APIs |
Developer downgradable permissions Starting in Android 13, your app can revoke access to runtime permissions that it was previously granted, either by the system or by the user. |
| Privacy and security | New features and APIs |
APK Signature Scheme v3.1 APK Signature Scheme v3.1 allows apps to support original and rotated signers in a single APK and also supports SDK version targeting. |
| Privacy and security | New features and APIs |
Better error reporting in Keystore and KeyMint For apps that generate keys, Keystore and KeyMint now provide more detailed and accurate error indicators. |
| Tablets and large screens | New features and APIs |
Improved support for tablets and large-screen devices Android 13 builds on the tablet optimizations introduced in Android 12 and the 12L feature drop—including optimizations for the system UI, better multitasking, and improved compatibility modes. |
| User experience | Change (apps targeting 13+) |
Media controls derived from PlaybackStateThe system now derives media controls from PlaybackState actions instead of MediaStyle notifications. |
| User experience | Change (apps targeting 13+) |
App color theme applied automatically to WebView content For apps targeting Android 13 (API level 33) or higher, the setForceDark() method is deprecated. Instead, WebView now always sets the media query prefers-color-scheme according to the app's theme attribute, isLightTheme. |
| Google Play services | Change (apps targeting 13+) |
Permission required for advertising ID Apps that use Google Play services advertising ID and target Android 13 (API level 33) and higher must declare the AD_ID normal permission in their app's manifest file. |
| Non-SDK interface restrictions | Change (apps targeting 13+) |
Updates to non-SDK interface restrictions Android 13 includes updated lists of restricted non-SDK interfaces based on collaboration with Android developers and the latest internal testing. |
| Media | New features and APIs |
Spatial audio An immersive audio experience for more realistic-sounding content. |
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