As with every passing year, a big Android version update is released, adding new features and functionality to the popular operating system. Android 13, in particular, brings some nice changes and enhancements that the best Android phones can benefit from. But as with every annual release of Android, minor or underappreciated features can slip through the cracks. And with new beta builds, you might have more features to look forward to coming soon. They all should get a special mention, especially those hidden in a settings menu or not talked about quite as much.
In this guide, we highlight a handful of these features from Android 13 that may be missed at first glance or should be put in the spotlight.
Quick Tap flashlight action shortcut
Quick Tap is an excellent feature introduced with Android 12, which allows you to double-tap the back of your phone to launch an action. Although technically not a new feature in Android 13, Google added an option that most users felt had been missing from day one: a flashlight.
To use the flashlight action for the Quick Tap feature, do the following:
- Go to Settings > System > Gestures.
- Tap Quick Tap to start actions.
- Go to the bottom of the list, then select Toggle flashlight.
- Double-tap the back of your phone to turn on the flashlight. Double-tap the back of the phone again to turn off the flashlight.
There are multiple ways to scan QR codes on your Android smartphone, from Google Lens to the built-in camera app. This works great, but you must open an app and make a few taps before you can scan a QR code. In Android 13, Google introduced the Scan QR code panel for the Quick Settings menu with one-tap access.
To scan a QR code, tap the tile once and then scan a QR code. No more opening the camera or other apps first.
Control smart home devices without unlocking your phone
Google continues to refine the smart device controls feature with each new Android version. For example, it recently swapped the long-press Power button menu for a Quick Settings tile called Device controls in Android 12. The purpose and features were the same, but Google changed how you access your smart home controls. That’s all good, but one common issue is still there. If your smartphone is locked, you can’t turn on the lights or adjust other smart home devices.
Starting with Android 13, you can control these devices without unlocking your phone. To find this new Android 13 feature, go to Settings > Display > Lock screen > Control from locked device. When you turn on this setting, you can manage the devices linked to Google Home without unlocking your phone.
Google added this feature to simplify our smart home lives. The updated Quick Settings tile in Android 13 has been renamed to Home, which you’ll tap to adjust your smart home devices.
A smaller lock screen clock than what came with Android 12
Always-on displays have been a significant part of the Android ecosystem but only recently saw a major overhaul with Android 12. Google’s focus on larger user interface elements built for touchscreens is a brilliant move, especially since display sizes seem to get slightly larger every year. The change also affected the lock screen, not just the always-on display feature. As such, the giant font size for the lock screen clock in Android 12 had mixed reactions, but many become used to it.
With Android 13, there’s a setting to reduce the lock screen clock font size in case you’re interested in a more discreet option. You can find it by going to Settings > Display > Lock screen > Double-line clock. Enabling this option splits the clock into two lines, making it look like when you get a new notification, except it stays this size at all times.
Quickly edit a document or text with an improved copy and paste in Android 13
Copy and paste is a core Android function many of us use daily. We’d likely be lost without it since it’s so helpful. This feature has mostly stayed the same throughout the years, with a few minor changes here and there. In Android 13, Google added a feature that opens a new menu in the lower-left corner when you copy something. Tapping the pop-up menu brings you to a dedicated screen with the copied text or image, letting you edit it as needed. Once you’re finished making the edits, tap Done to save the changes.
Active apps section in the Quick Settings panel makes closing apps easy in Android 13
Many top-tier Android smartphones come with a significant amount of RAM, up to 16GB in some cases. The more RAM available to your device, the more apps you can open at once. That also increases the possibility of unnecessary apps running in the background, draining your battery. Android 13 brings a new Active apps button to the bottom of your Quick Settings menu, which identifies these apps instantly. Some apps, such as a VPN, should stay active all the time to work correctly, but this may not be the case for every app.
Swipe down on your Quick Settings menu, then tap the numbered button at the bottom of the screen left of the Settings icon to get started. That number represents how many apps are currently running in the background. In the new Active apps screen that appears, you can view and turn off any apps you don’t want by pressing the Stop button. Some apps must be running in the background to work correctly. Just shut down the ones you don’t need.
Android 13 lets you change display size and text settings from the same screen
Android 13 has some useful display control options that you should consider trying. Before this, the Font size and Display size features were in separate sections. Other related settings had been tucked away elsewhere. With the Android 13 update, you can adjust the font or display size, bold, and high-contrast text options from a single page. No more jumping back and forth to make changes to your display settings. To find this new screen, go to Settings > Display > Display size and text.
Hold the home button for your digital assistant using three-button navigation
The gesture navigation that Google brought to the table initially with Android 10 was a game changer. It made big-screen smartphones easier to use. As each new version of Android is released, these gestures continue to improve and get easier to use. However, this may not be a good fit for all users regardless of how refined the feature has become. As such, Google continues to offer the classic three-button navigation option for those not ready to adopt the full gesture-based experience.
If you use Google Assistant, Android 13 allows you to long-press the home button to bring up your digital assistant. The feature isn’t entirely new. It may be familiar to some users who used it in an older version of Android. It has likely returned to Android 13 due to popular demand for those who still prefer using the three-button navigation.
To find and enable this setting on your device, check out the following steps:
- Go to Settings > System > Gestures > System navigation.
- On the System navigation page, tap the 3-button navigation option.
- Tap the Settings icon on the right.
- Enable the Hold Home for Assistant feature by tapping the button on the right.
- To summon Google Assistant, long-press the home button on your device.
A new audio description setting appears in the accessibility settings
Android has many accessibility features, making it user-friendly for all people. From text size magnification to real-time text transcriptions, there’s something to fit everyone’s needs. As each new version of Android is released, Google typically adds or enhances a few accessibility options to improve the user experience. Android 13 implemented an Audio description feature, which allows you to hear a verbal description of what’s happening on-screen during audio pauses. This works with supported movies and shows to portray the scene better to its users.
To find and enable this feature on your device, do the following:
- Go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio description.
- Enable the Audio description option by tapping the button on the right.
- You now have system-wide audio descriptions for the apps, movies, and shows that support the new Android 13 feature.
Turn on the dark mode theme at bedtime
A system-wide dark mode feature was introduced with Android 10, which makes your favorite compatible apps switch to a darker theme. Later, Google introduced Bedtime Mode, providing a few options to help you unwind before you go to sleep, such as silencing app notifications. However, enabling dark mode when Bedtime Mode kicks in was something many felt should have been included by default. In Android 13, you can turn on the dark theme when Bedtime Mode activates, saving you an extra step.
To find and enable the dark mode at bedtime feature, check out the following steps:
- Go to Settings > Display > Dark theme > Schedule.
- Select the Turns on at bedtime option.
- From this point on, dark mode is automatically enabled based on your Bedtime Mode schedule.
Many of us are likely familiar with setting the alarm on our phones to help us wake up every morning. The device’s loud alarm sound and buzzing vibrations are typically enough to awaken even the deepest sleepers. But depending on the quality of the haptics, these vibrations can be too strong or startling by default. Not everyone enjoys starting their day by being jolted awake. Android 13 allows you to fine-tune the vibration strength for your alarms, giving you a more subtle and comfortable way to wake up.
You’ll find this new option by going to Settings > Sound & Vibration > Vibration & haptics > Alarm vibration. Drag the slider down to where you want it and enjoy your alarms with slightly less vibration strength. Also introduced in Android 13, you can adjust the Media vibration on the same screen under the Interactive haptics section. This alters the vibration strength when playing certain media content.
The vibrate mode status bar icon can be enabled once again
A minor but noticeable change Android 12 brought with it is automatically hiding the vibrate icon in the status bar when using vibrate-only mode. Some people liked hiding the icon by default, while others preferred to keep it on to know when their phone was on vibrate. In Android 13, the icon can be on or off when using vibrate mode.
To find this new feature, go to Settings > Sound & Vibration > Always show icon when in vibrate mode. After you enable this option, the icon for vibrate mode stays in your status bar at all times, just as it was in the previous versions of Android.
Limit your network bandwidth across the entire system
This feature is more for developers and advanced users. Still, it can be helpful in certain circumstances. Android 13 added a new feature to the hidden developer options that artificially limits your network bandwidth speed. This wasn’t possible across the entire Android system until now, and it’s interesting to think about what you can do with it going forward.
Say you have a 100Mbps internet connection. You can limit how much your Android smartphone uses at its peak. Theoretically, you could restrict it to no more than 15Mbps to reduce the bandwidth and data it consumes. You can do this for the entire month if you’re on a limited data plan or use it occasionally to save on data. It’s also helpful if you have other Android 13 devices on your home network. You can keep them from using all the available bandwidth, which can be handy in some scenarios.
To find this setting, go to Settings > System > Developer options. Then, tap Network download rate limit. A new screen pops up with various speed choices ranging from 128kbps to 15Mbps.
The Battery usage feature is more helpful once again
The Battery usage feature has always been a great way to track which apps were draining your battery. However, Android 12 changed how it worked, making it less helpful for troubleshooting battery issues. No longer could you view which apps were using your battery after you took it off the charger. It was replaced by a general battery stat that combined your 24-hour usage. This made it more challenging to track individual sessions in detail, leading many users to try third-party apps to replace the missing feature.
The latest Android 13 QPR1 Beta 2 has restored the Battery usage feature to how it was before Android 12. You’ll be able to track your battery sessions whenever you take your device off the charger. This also means no more combining your battery stats into a single 24-hour time frame. The change from the beta build is expected to be included in a public system update for Android 13 later in December 2022. The location of this feature can be found by going to Settings > Battery > Battery usage.
Spatial audio support for wired and Bluetooth headphones
With the recent Android 13 QPR2 Beta, Google added spatial audio support for wired headphones and Bluetooth devices. Spatial audio allows compatible devices, apps, and media to simulate the feeling of the sound coming from all around you. In essence, it’s a type of 360-degree surround sound that is supposed to make your listening experience more immersive.
You can find and enable the feature for wired headphones by going to Settings > Sound & vibration > Spatial audio. Once it’s on, you’ll need to find an app with compatible media, such as a supported show on Netflix.
You can also go to Settings > Connected devices and select the Spatial Audio option for one of the Bluetooth devices synced with your smartphone. If the device supports spatial audio, you should be able to flip the switch to the on position, and that’s it. For example, the Pixel Buds Pro should receive an update in January 2023 to properly support this new feature over Bluetooth. We expect spatial audio from the QPR2 Beta to go public for everyone on Android 13 in March 2023.
Internal screen resolution changer
This feature came to the Google Pixel 7 Pro when it launched but has recently seen some new life on an older device. With Android 13 QPR2 Beta, the Google Pixel 6 Pro can tap into the same screen resolution feature. This is excellent news since the battery life and heat management on that device could have been better. Because it’s pushing more pixels at a higher refresh rate over the base Pixel 6 model, it’ll burn additional battery life. Lowering the internal resolution from the native 1440p to 1080p alleviates many of these issues.
Go to Settings > Display > Screen resolution to find and enable this feature. Once you select the High resolution option for 1080p, some visual elements may automatically restart before you see the changes. Now that your device won’t be pushed quite as hard, you should experience slightly better battery life and less heat overall. We recommend using this setting if you have an issue with either. And just like spatial audio, we expect the screen resolution feature from the QPR2 Beta to go public for everyone on Android 13 in March 2023.
Many of these Android 13 features can be useful once you’re aware of them
Android 13 continues to build on top of what made Android 12 such a transformative experience for the operating system. Android 13 offers significant changes and additions, but the lesser-known ones deserve extra attention. We only covered some of them in this guide, but there might be more we didn’t mention in our list. Whether you weren’t aware of them or forgot they were there, these minor or underrated features can help enhance your user experience. You can now take the ones that appeal to you the most and incorporate them into your daily routine.
Android 12 brought a new level of customization to the table with its Material You theme, but Android 13 adds more functionality. Learning how to customize your Android 12 and Android 13 phone’s Material You theme allows you to create a new look built around your needs.
