Today’s Beta 3.3 release includes Google’s annual secret
Google released Android 13 Beta 3.3 (that’s a lot of threes) this afternoon, bringing a whole slate of bug fixes to frustrated beta testers who have struggled over the last couple of weeks. While we’ll have to wait for the upcoming Beta 4 release next month, today’s launch does include one famed tradition for any new software update: the Android Easter egg. While this one might not feel as exciting as it has in years past, anyone running Beta 3.3 can give it a try today.
Android’s annual Easter egg is an event for anyone trying out the beta program on their device. In previous years, we’ve seen everything from Flappy Bird clones to cat minigames (twice!). Android 12’s Easter egg was a little less exciting, highlighting Google’s achievements with Material You and offering a paint chip widget alongside it. As we rapidly approach the official launch of Android 13, our first glimpse of this year’s hidden secret feels awfully familiar.
As spotted by 9to5Google, the latest Easter egg duplicates last year’s clock-based puzzle with a new emoji-focused twist. As always, you can activate Google’s hidden splash screen by heading to the About section in Settings and rapidly tapping on the version number. Just set the clock to 1:00 — 1300 in military time — and before you know it, you’ll be looking at a very similar secret to last year’s, but with “13” in the place of “12.”
Of course, there is something new here, excellently highlighted by Esper.io’s Mishaal Rahman. As you long-press the bubbles, they switch into different emoji, from smilies to hearts, flowers to clocks. It’s a fun little twist on last year’s design, though I’m not exactly sure how it reflects Android 13’s focus on privacy and security. Maybe Beta 4 will introduce an unexpected amount of emoji-related features — or maybe Google’s just run out of Easter egg ideas to reflect smaller updates.
