Android 13 Beta 1 is Here for Pixel Phones!

Were you starting to think Google was off-schedule? Silly. The Android 13 Beta 1 is here, still in the month of April, as was originally shared. If you own a Pixel 4, Pixel 4a, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, or Pixel 6 phone, you can get up and running with the latest Android 13 build without much work, starting today.

This is the first Android 13 Beta, so we are still in the early days of Android 13. This could be somewhat stable – at least it should be stable enough to be labeled “beta” – but expect there to be bugs here and there. Putting this on the phone that you use every single day is potentially risky.

How to get Android 13 Beta 1 on your Pixel

As mentioned above, the first Android 13 Beta is available to:

• Pixel 4 and 4 XL
• Pixel 4a and 4a (5G)
• Pixel 5 and 5a
• Pixel 6 and 6 Pro

Easiest way: If you own one of those devices, the easiest way to get Android 13 Beta 1 on device is to sign-up for the Android Beta Program (here). You’ll simply click the “Opt In” button on that page to join and then sit back and wait for Google to push an update as Android 13 over-the-air.

Once you have enrolled, you’ll head into Settings>System>Advanced>System update to check for it. Google may not push it immediately and could instead roll it out slowly throughout the day. Either way, feel free to check through there to tell Google you want it after enrolling in the program.

Manual way: Want to get updated faster or would rather flash a factory image or OTA file through adb to feel more techie and important and smart? That’s still an option! I’ll be going the OTA route, but factory images are available too. You’ll find Android 13 Beta 1 factory images here and the OTA files here. For instructions on how to flash a factory image, here you go. For instructions on how to flash an OTA .zip file, here you go.

Already on an Android 13 DP build: If you are already on an Android 13 Developer Preview build, Google says that you will receive the Beta 1 update over-the-air. Of course, you can manually flash a factory image or OTA file as well, since the over-the-air process often takes forever to process.

What’s new in Android 13 Beta 1?

Release date: April 26, 2022
Build: TPB1.220310.029
Emulator support: x86 (64-bit), ARM (v8-A)
Security patch level: April 2022
Google Play services: 22.09.20

We’ll dive in here shortly to find any big changes and likely detail it in a separate post. For now, Google is only saying that this Beta 1 will include changes from the first two Developer Preview builds, like privacy features, the new notification permission and photo picker, themed app icons, per-app language support, Bluetooth LE audio, and MIDI 2.0 over USB. This first beta should also add “more granular access to media files, improved audio routing APIs, and more.”

• UPDATE: Here’s what’s new in Android 13 Beta 1!

Our recaps for DP1 and DP2 can be found here and here. Stay tuned for more on Android 13 Beta 1.