Google’s annual Android updates used to be major events, bringing much-needed features and UI refinements to the platform, but that was then and this is now. Today, more than 14 years after Android debuted, the annual updates are something else: Boring. It’s a common refrain when Google announces a new Android update these days, and it’s certainly the case with Android 13. Should we be sad about that? I’d argue it’s good that Google isn’t taking any major risks with Android right now. If it did, you might not like the results.
We’ve come a long way already. It’s hard to believe there was a time when apps would run roughshod over the system, waking up whenever they wanted and wrecking your battery. The UI design in those days was a disappointment as well, so much so that the neon-themed Holo UX was an improvement over Gingerbread, which had all the elegance of an Ecto-Cooler juice box.