My Android 13 Wishlist
--
Android 12 has honestly impressed me quite a bit, back when Android 10 launched I really didn’t expect any major user facing changes until at least, Android 13. Boy was I wrong, while Android 11 was a little duller, Android 12 definitely put a spotlight on Android design. Now that we’re up to date on the December security patch and the majority of bugs and issues have been dealt with it’s time to look onward, to Android 13!
The Juice
It’s easy for us keyboard warriors to demand more power, speed and endurance from our phones and their baked in technology, but here I am today, still asking for such things! Android 12 didn’t just add a fresh coat of paint to the user experience but it optimized processes that have led to faster speeds and a more consistent battery life for many. That being said, more can be done! I want all the battery life, all the performance improvements and stability you can layer onto my Android device!
The Support
While part of this issue needs to be resolved by phone manufacturers part of this can also be solved by Google’s Android team as well. With Google continuously breaking down the Android Operating System into modules that can be updated through the play store there is a real possibility that even if you’re not running the latest version of Android anymore, you’re at least running a very close experience just by keeping your normal applications updated! Keep breaking things down module by module Google and maybe one day we won’t have to talk so much about update fragmentation! In addition to this, can we get more than just three years of software support? That would be great, thanks!
The Pen
Android has had an interesting experience with stylus’ in the past. Every once and awhile a great device comes around and shows off awesome pen capabilities on Android. But at this rate, nothing is going to topple the pure bliss that comes from the iPad and the Apple Pencil. Android may have already lost this battle/war, but there’s nothing wrong with a completely worthwhile copycat tactic here. I would love to use a stylus to take notes more often but between my applications not being built for it or the experience being janky at best, it needs some TLC. I don’t need any flashy features, perhaps just encouragement for developers to adopt a pen standard and of course make the latency and input lag minimal on as many devices as you can. Oh, figure out palm detection, that would also be great.
Final Thoughts
Android has really matured over the years, coincidentally, a lot of that maturing took place when we dropped the dessert naming conventions that I miss so dearly. That being said, now it’s time for Google and the AOSP team to explore new grounds where they haven’t focused on before. I’ll continue to welcome each and every update as my Pixel 3a feels faster, and more feature packed almost every month!
