The second beta for Android 13 QPR2 is currently rolling out for select Pixel phones, adding new experimental features and even some emojis.
If you just look at them official release notes (opens in new tab), you’d think it’s nothing more than a patch to fix things like a UI bug that “caused the home screen to become unresponsive”. But the notable Android expert Mashaal Rahman managed to dissect the entire beta into one long twitter thread (opens in new tab). There’s one feature in particular that has got him and other Android watchers quite excited, and that’s the ability to create single-color app icons that reflect the Material You theme on Pixel phones. So everything looks uniform.
According to Rahman, the feature is disabled by default, so beta users will need to go into the phone’s settings and toggle ENABLE_FORCED_MONO_ICON (this is most likely a wildcard name). When turned on, all apps that support this feature, including first- and third-party apps like Netflix, switch to the monochrome look. Other reports (opens in new tab) Say it’s ultimately up to the app developers themselves whether they want to support the feature or not. This could leave “pixel owners in a strange place” where launcher icons are a mishmash of monochrome and full color.
Further changes
The only other notable new feature in the beta is a partial screen sharing menu for sharing or recording an app. It includes a new scrollable UI over a list of apps that appear to work with the screen sharing tool.
The rest of the changes appear to be merely updated versions of previously seen beta features. Rahman discovered a new shared library in the beta files called “aoc_audio_stereo_spatializer” which he believes refers to “enabling spatial audio through the phone’s stereo speakers”. Spatial audio was first hinted at in first Android 13 QPR2 beta. Unfortunately, Google is still playing its cards close to its chest as much of the basic information about how spatial audio will work on Android remains unknown.
Back in beta is the ability to control smart home devices from the lock screen, which was already in the works March 2022 (opens in new tab). The change this time is that the beta will suggest you enable this feature if “you’re trying to toggle a [smart home] Device from the lock screen a few times.
As previously mentioned, QPR2 Beta 2 is available for download from the Android Beta Program if you own one of the following Pixel phones: the Pixel 4a, pixels 5, 5athe Base 6 model, 6 pers, 6athe Base 7 modeland the Pixel 7 Pro. Be aware that it is not perfect. There are several threads about this Android Beta subreddit (opens in new tab) about all the issues that users encountered after downloading QPE2 Beta 2, from the icons not turning to solid color to Google Messages not working properly. If you encounter any of these issues, the company encourages users to report disruptions via the feedback app (opens in new tab).
And while we have you, be sure to stop by if you’re thinking about upgrading your phone two new Pixel 7 offerings we found.
