Android 13 has a bunch of new features, and these ones should be on your list to try

With Android 13, we can expect a few significant changes and enhancements to improve our Android smartphones. But as with every major annual release of Android, many minor or underappreciated features can slip through the cracks. Some of them are somewhat known but not talked about as much, while others don't seem to get the attention they deserve.

Whether they're hidden away in a menu somewhere or just not mentioned a lot in the news headlines, some of them can be useful. In this guide, we highlight a handful of those specific features from Android 13.

Quick Tap is an excellent feature introduced with Android 12, which allows you to double-tap the back of your phone to launch a particular action. Although technically not a new feature in Android 13, Google added a new option that most users felt was missing from day one—a flashlight.

To find the Quick Tap feature, go to Settings > System > Gestures. Then tap Quick Tap to start actions, go to the bottom of the list, and tap Toggle flashlight.

There are multiple ways to scan QR codes on your Android smartphone, from Google Lens to the built-in camera app. This works great, but you have to open an app and make a few taps before you can start scanning a QR code. In Android 13, Google introduced the Scan QR code panel for the Quick Settings menu with one-tap access.

To scan a QR code, tap the tile once and then scan a QR code. No more opening the camera or other apps first.

Google continues to refine the smart device controls after each major version of Android. For example, they recently swapped the long-press Power button menu for a Quick Settings tile called Device controls in Android 12. The purpose and features were the same, but Google changed how you access your smart home controls.

That's all good, but one common issue was still there. You couldn't turn the lights on if your smartphone was locked. Starting with Android 13, there's an option you can enable that allows you to control these devices without unlocking your phone. To find this new Android 13 feature, go to Settings > Display > Lock screen > Control from locked device. Once you turn on this setting, you'll be able to manage the devices linked to Google Home without having to unlock your phone first.

We're grateful Google finally added this feature to help simplify our lives. The updated Quick Settings tile in Android 13 is now named Home, which is what you'll press to adjust your smart home devices as needed.

Always-on displays have been a significant part of the Android ecosystem but only recently saw a major overhaul with Android 12. Google's focus on larger fonts and icons for a touchscreen environment is brilliant. However, it also affected the lock screen. Not everyone likes looking at the big font size for the clock in Android 12, but many have gotten used to it by now.

With Android 13, there's now a setting to reduce the lock screen clock font size in case you're still interested in a more discreet option. You can find it by going to Settings > Display > Lock screen > Double-line clock. Enabling this option will split the clock into two lines, making it look like when you get a notification—except it stays smaller at all times.

If you weren't a fan of the big font size for the clock on the lock screen, this Android 13 setting should help solve your always-on display woes.

Copy and paste is a core Android function that many of us use daily; we'd likely be lost without it. This feature has mostly stayed the same throughout the years, with a few minor changes here and there. In Android 13, Google has added a helpful feature that opens a new menu in the lower-left corner when you copy something. Tapping that pop-up brings you to a dedicated screen with the copied text, which lets you edit it as needed. Pressing Done saves the changes.

Many top-tier Android smartphones today come with a significant amount of RAM, up to 16GB in some cases. The more RAM you have available, the more apps you can have open at once. This is great for multitasking, but what about those apps that run in the background 24/7? Some apps, such as a VPN, should run at all times, but not every app needs to be constantly active. Android 13 brings a new Active apps button to the bottom of your Quick Settings menu to help you.

Swipe down your Quick Settings menu, then tap the numbered button at the bottom of the screen left of the Settings icon to get started. That number represents how many apps are currently running on your system. In the new Active apps screen that pops up, you can view and turn off any you don't want by pressing the Stop button.

Some apps must be running in the background to work correctly—just shut down the ones you don't need.

You may not always have to use these, but Android 13 has some useful display control options that you should know about. Before this, the Font size and Display size features were in separate sections—other related settings had been tucked away elsewhere.

With the Android 13 update, you can adjust the font or display size, bold, and high contrast text options from a single page. No more jumping back and forth. To find this new screen, go to Settings > Display > Display size and text.

The gesture navigation that Google brought to the table initially with Android 10 was a game changer. It made big-screen smartphones easier to use. The gesture features continue to improve with each new Android release, but that doesn't mean everyone has warmed up to them yet. Google still offers the 3-button navbar for those who don't want to adopt gesture-based navigation. If you use Google Assistant, you'll be glad to know that Android 13 brought back an old feature: being able to long-press the Home button for your assistant.

It's a small but helpful change for the people who enjoy using the 3-button navigation and want to summon their digital assistant quickly. To find this new option, go to Settings > System > Gestures > System navigation. On the System Navigation page, tap 3-button navigation and tap the Settings icon on the right. Then make sure the Hold Home for Assistant option is enabled.

Android has many accessibility features, making it more user-friendly for people of all types. From text size magnification to real-time text transcriptions right before your eyes, there's something to fit everyone's needs.

As each new version of Android is released, Google typically adds or enhances a few accessibility options to improve the user experience. With Android 13, they've implemented an Audio description feature, which allows one to hear a verbal description of what's happening on-screen during audio pauses. This works with supported movies and shows to portray the scene to its users better.

To find this option, go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio description. Once you flip the switch to the on position, you'll have system-wide audio descriptions for the apps, movies, and shows that support the new Android 13 feature.

A system-wide dark mode feature was introduced with Android 10, which makes your favorite compatible apps switch to a darker theme. Later, Google introduced Bedtime Mode, providing a few options to help you unwind before sleep, such as silencing app notifications. However, enabling dark mode when Bedtime Mode kicks in was something that's been missing from the beginning. In Android 13, you can choose to turn on dark mode when Bedtime Mode activates, saving you an extra step. This is useful if you frequently use the light theme during daytime hours.

To find this new feature, go to Settings > Display > Dark theme > Schedule > Turn on at bedtime. From this point on, dark mode is automatically enabled based on your Bedtime Mode schedule.

Many of us are likely familiar with setting the alarm on our phones to help us wake up every morning. It has become a part of our daily routine, but one thing is still an issue. You can't adjust the vibration strength when an alarm goes off. Depending on the quality of haptics per device, it can sometimes be too loud or strong by default for some users. Android 13 allows you to fine-tune the vibration strength for your alarms, giving you a more subtle way to wake up if needed.

You can find this new option by going to Settings > Sound & Vibration > Vibration & haptics > Alarm vibration. Drag the slider down to where you want it and enjoy your alarms with slightly less vibration strength. Also introduced in Android 13, you can adjust the Media vibration on the same screen under the Interactive haptics section. This alters your vibration strength when playing certain media content.

A minor but noticeable change that Android 12 brought with it is automatically hiding the vibrate icon in your status bar while using vibrate-only mode. Some people liked this change, while others prefer to have the icon to know when their phone is on vibrate. In Android 13, you can choose if you want to have the icon on or off when using vibrate mode.

To find this new feature, go to Settings > Sound & Vibration > Always show icon when in vibrate mode. Once you enable this option, the icon for vibrate mode stays in your status bar at all times, just as it was in the previous versions of Android.

This feature is more for developers and advanced users. Still, it can be helpful in certain circumstances. Android 13 added a new option to the hidden developer options that artificially limits your network bandwidth speed. This wasn't possible system-wide until now, and it's pretty interesting when you think about it.

Say you have a 100Mbps connection. You can limit how much your Android smartphone uses at its peak. Theoretically, you could restrict it to no more than 15Mbps to effectively reduce the bandwidth and data it consumes. You can do this for the entire month if you're on a limited data plan or use it occasionally to save on data. It might also be helpful if you have multiple other Android 13 devices on your home network. You'd be able to keep them from using up all the available bandwidth as needed.

To find this new setting, go to Settings > System > Developer options. Then, tap Network download rate limit. A new screen pops up with various speed choices ranging from 128kbps to 15Mbps.

The Android 13 features listed in this guide are a few of the changes and additions coming to the next big version of Android. Some might already be known, but others have likely gone under the radar. You can check out our Android 13 ultimate collection for more information. It shows you everything you need to know in greater detail.

Stephen is a freelance writer at Android Police who primarily covers how-to guides, features, and the occasional in-depth explainer across various topics. He came on board with the team in late 2021, bringing his strong technical background in computers, smartphones, and customer service with him. As a long-time power user who knows his devices from the inside out, he uses that knowledge to tweak and customize them to better fit his specific needs. Stephen previously worked as a freelance how-to guide writer for the Android rooting, modding, and custom ROM section at Gadget Hacks. He has actively followed the Android scene since 2008 with the HTC Dream, known by most as the T-Mobile G1. However, he didn't get his first Android device until 2009 with the original Motorola Droid. After that, Stephen quickly learned about unlocking the bootloader and gaining full root access — both changed his smartphone life forever. He would frequently install custom ROMs, kernels, and recoveries to improve his Android experience beyond what stock could provide. Although not as popular as it once was, he still continues to root his primary devices today using the latest version of Magisk. Stephen has been passionate about writing his entire life and finally turned it into a professional career in 2016. He started out as a lesson plan writer in computer science and IT for Study.com, which allows students to earn real college credits online. That led him to Gadget Hacks, where Stephen got to write educational and informative pieces for Android smartphones. And now, he continues down that same path at Android Police, using his technical knowledge and skills to write how-to guides. His goal has always been to help as many people as possible learn something new about technology.