There are only a handful of changes in Android 13 QPR3, but a surprising one in Beta 3 today tweaks the design of 3-button navigation.
All the icons, especially the Home circle, are slightly larger. In the images below, we’re comparing Android 13 QPR3 Beta 3 to Android 14 Beta 1, which does not have this change yet and is similar in this regard to the stable release of Android 13 QPR2 (April).
Additionally, when “Hold Home for Assistant” is enabled, there is no longer a distinct ring around the circle. In fact, the circle is even larger when that option is turned off. You still get the four color dots when you tap quickly. Lastly, the triangle features more rounded points. (Speaking of triangles, I have forgotten how delightful it is for closing an open keyboard.)
Old vs. New
This 3-button navigation redesign, if it makes it to the stable Android 13 QPR3 release, joins the return of battery percentage in the top-right corner when you initially swipe down for Quick Settings/Notifications, a new fullscreen wallpaper preview, tweaks to Home Controls, and Enhanced PIN privacy to remove animations.
The setting page for Pixel Launcher search also adds a “Device results” toggle for “History-based device results and suggestions.” We’re not too sure what this adds/removes. Lastly, Google has switched the position of App info and Pause (Digital Wellbeing) when long-pressing an app icon on the homescreen to greatly disrupt muscle memory.
Android 13 QPR3 should hit stable in June with the next Pixel Feature Drop. The beta program for this update has been strange and somewhat accelerated. Beta 1 was released a week later than expected, but was followed by Beta 2 after only two weeks. Now, we’re seeing Beta 3 before the expected May release.
Dylan Roussel contributed to this article.
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