Android 13 QPR2 Beta 1: Media player adds quirky lava lamp effect

Abner Li | Dec 12 2022 - 5:25 pm PT

Google is continuing to have fun with Android 13’s new media player as QPR2 Beta 1 adds a delightful lava lamp overlay effect to the controls.

It started with the scrubber bar wiggling and oscillating as audio played in Android 13. In QPR1, Google changed the scrubber head from a circle to a vertical pill so it would look less like sperm. It also introduced the option to hide the player from your lockscreen.

With Android 13 QPR1 Beta 1, Google has added a lava lamp — or roving spotlight — effect. It primarily shows when audio is playing with album artwork taken into consideration for the color. It appears on the lockscreen and in both compact and full Quick Settings.

The effect lasts for a few seconds and then fades out. It reappears whenever you interact or land on the media player, like after waking the screen, pulling down your drawer, switching tracks, or play/pause on Android 13 QPR2. This is also the case even when no music is playing.

It’s subtle, but quite nice when you notice it. Having it animate for a bit longer would be a nice tweak as the betas progress.

This will hopefully serve as another motivator for streaming apps to support Android 13 to take advantage of the new control layout. Spotify’s update is still in beta with broader adoption being quite slow.