Google recently released the first beta test version of Android 13 and officially announced that Android 13 has stepped out of the developer preview stage. Although it's almost May now, the first beta version has caught up with the schedule previously expected in the official development progress timeline.
Android 13 development progress timeline
What's new in Android 13 Beta 1
Beta 1 includes the latest updates to features previously announced by Google in the developer preview, such as new notification permissions, a photo picker, themed app icons, improved localization and language support, and more, building on the Android 13 Beta 1 also introduces a small number of new features.
The permissions for media file access are more granular:
Previously, when an application wanted to read shared media files in local storage, it needed to request READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGEpermission , which could access all types of media files. To bring more transparency and control to users, we will introduce a new set of permissions with a more granular scope when accessing shared media files.
With the new permissions, apps can now request access to certain types of files on shared storage:
READ_MEDIA_IMAGES(for images and photos)READ_MEDIA_VIDEO(for video)READ_MEDIA_AUDIO(for audio files)
When the user grants the permission, the application will have read permission for the corresponding media file type. To simplify the user experience, if an application requests READ_MEDIA_IMAGEboth and READ_MEDIA_VIDEO, the system displays a dialog that grants both permissions.
Better error reporting in Keystore and KeyMint:
Keystore and KeyMint now provide more detailed and accurate error indications for apps that generate keys. Google has added an exception class hierarchy java.security.ProviderExceptionunder , with Android-specific exceptions, including Keystore/KeyMint error codes, and whether the error can be retried. You can also modify the key generation, signing and encryption methods to throw new exceptions. Improved error reporting should now give you the relevant information you need to retry key generation.
Predictive Audio Routing:
To help media applications determine how their audio will be routed, Google has added a new audio routing API to the AudioManagerclass . The new getAudioDevicesForAttributes()API allows you to retrieve a list of devices that may be used to play a given audio, and Google has also added getDirectProfilesForAttributes()APIs to help you know if your audio stream is ready to play directly. Use these new APIs to determine what's best for your track AudioFormat.
For more details, please check: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2022/04/android-13-beta-1-blog.html