Google has officially dropped Android 13 Developer Preview 2 (DP2) and among the latest features is a change to the notification shade’s Quick Settings Panel aimed at making some aspects easier to use. That’s based on recent reports detailing the new feature, which effectively rearranges the layout of Quick Settings. Or at least some aspects of it.
What’s the change with Quick Settings in Android 13?
Summarily, Google is changing the position of three particular icons in Quick Settings. For clarity, Quick Settings are the tiles and icons that occupy the screen when users swipe down — once or twice, depending on the OEM — from any screen.
With the latest change revealed in Android 13 DP2, two of those icons are being moved and another is being added. The power button and system-level Settings access button are being moved. While they previously occupied the middle portion of the screen, they’ll be in easier thumbs’ reach. Placed at the bottom right-hand side of the UI, as shown in images shared by the source.
Google may also ultimately choose to allow users to move those to the opposite side of the screen via personalization. That would make things easier on users since not everybody is right- or left-handed. But that remains to be seen.
Additionally, Google’s latest version of Android now shows an easy-access icon for users’ account and profile details. Making it easier than ever to get to and manage deeper account settings.
Finally, the company has also added a new chip-shaped icon to detail how many active apps are running. And a quick tap on that reportedly reveals just what those apps are. Likely in a bid to make the new version more user-friendly when it comes to user data, privacy, and security.
When is Android 13 coming?
Nobody should expect to see this arriving anytime soon on their handset though. Android 13 DP2 is, based on Google’s most recent announcement, the last of the developer previews for the month. The first of the beta releases isn’t slated until next month. The final release won’t be available until sometime near the end of summer or early fall. And users won’t start seeing the update on their end until OEMs release that.
2022-03-18 15:08:49