Android 13 becomes the PC operating system: Google adapts the interface

With the upcoming version 13, Google is making its mobile operating system suitable for use on desktops and laptops. In the second developer preview that has now appeared, there are corresponding signs in the form of PC-oriented control elements.

The American Android Specialist misaal rahmanwhich is the documentation of all changes in Android you’ve done your homework, you’re currently picking Android 13 Developer Preview 2 which was released yesterday. In doing so, he came across several other innovations that he documented for your employer’s blog Esper.ioalso about changes that should make it easier to use Android 13 on PC.

Android 13: DP2 brings new buttons…
…for notifications and quick settings

As Rahman explains in his blog post, for the first time Android 13 with DP2 gets some extra buttons to make it easier to use on a PC. Among other things, Google introduces an extended Start taskbar with Android 13, in which icons for quick access to notifications and quick settings are now displayed on the right edge of the screen, almost like in Windows.

New buttons have taken the place of the 3-button navigation system

The new buttons appear exactly where other devices with larger screens typically place Android’s 3-button navigation. Additionally, Rahman noted that all apps in Android 13 DP2 on PCs now always open in freeform mode, meaning they can be freely switched. The user can thus move the windows back and forth directly and effortlessly on the “desktop”.

Multi-window operation is always enabled, so you can work with multiple programs in windowed mode on the desktop, just like in Windows. However, it is currently still unclear if Google will be able to officially use windowed mode freely with Android 13 in the final version. It’s already introduced with Android 7.0, but it’s still hidden behind a developer option.

It is also currently unclear what strategic purpose the tweaks to Android 13, which have so far been very manageable, have for use on PC. Until now, there have been some cases where Android is already used as the operating system for PCs, but actually Google is still fully committed to Chrome OS as its preferred operating system for laptops and desktops.

Incidentally, the screenshots posted by Rahman weren’t taken on a PC, but on a Pixel 6 Pro, where he turned on the flags corresponding to surface output on the PC version and increased the pixel density.


Operating System, Google, Android, Interface, Android 13, Buttons, Developer Preview 2, DP2
Mishaal Rahman / Esper.io