Google released the final Android 13 for download yesterday evening. Initially, only Pixel smartphones will be provided with the update. However, the rollout did not go smoothly, as shown by the incorrectly offered Android 12 instead of 13, a defective universal search in the launcher or Widevine problems.
Android 13 can now be downloaded via OTA -Update or as a factory image can be installed on all Pixel smartphones from the Pixel 4. The new version has already been successfully installed on the smartphones of the editors on a Pixel 5 and Pixel 6.
- Pixel 4
- Pixel 4 XL
- Pixel 4a
- Pixel 4a (5G)
- Pixel 5
- Pixel 5a
- Pixel 6
- Pixel 6 Pro
- Pixel 6a
Android 12 offered instead of 13
On a Pixel 6 Pro, however, no OTA update was possible yesterday evening. However, an update was offered this morning – albeit on Android 12. It is not a typo in the changelog, as users in the ComputerBase community or in the Android and Pixel subreddits report. In fact, the approximately 2 GB download only installs Android 12 on the device again.
Google seems to be accidentally pushing Android 12 instead of #Android13 to Pixel 6 devices. pic.twitter.com/Rk054D3Lst
— Nicolas La Rocco (@roccetry) August 16, 2022
Pixel 6, 6 and 6a owners also need to be aware that after updating to Android 13, there is no going back to Android 12. The background is a bootloader update that raises the so-called anti-rollback version and prevents flashing of operating systems older than the new Android 13.
Universal search in the launcher broken
After the update to Android 13, the universal search in the Pixel Launcher may still not be active, regardless of the device. With this, Google combines the search on the device with the search on the web. As 9to5Google reports, a Pixel 4a, 6, 6 Pro and 6a all lost this new search after updating from Android 13 Beta 4.1 to the final version. Google has already officially confirmed the error and intends to make a bug fix available soon, which could potentially also be rolled out on the server side.
User loses Widevine L1 support
After the update, there could also be problems with Widevine, Google's proprietary digital rights management (DRM) technology. On Reddit, a user reports that since updating a Pixel 6a, the smartphone has lost the highest Widevine L1 support and can therefore no longer play HD/HDR.
Beta program continues with QPR
The Android 13 beta program will continue to run after the release of the final version. Although there is no longer a beta for the time being, devices that are still registered in the beta program will receive the Quarterly Platform Releases (QPR), with which Google can test new functions, for example for feature drops. Participants in the program must opt out accordingly. A QPR is not officially a preview of the next Feature Drop, but the current Feature Drop is based on the QPR.