The Google Pixel 7 Pro and its smaller sibling launched this month, but there was one thing missing from these two great new phones. The Android 13 Quarterly Platform Release (QPR) 1 beta wasn’t available on them. This is changing with the release of the third QPR beta, which finally brings the latest Pixel series up to snuff with its predecessors. That isn’t everything that’s new with Beta 3, though. Here’s a dive into everything you can expect when you update.

Clear Calling for Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro

The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro were launched with the promise that they would receive a new Clear Calling feature in December. It’s supposed to help make for better phone conversations in loud environments, allowing you and your conversation partner to hear each other better. While Clear Calling didn’t make it for the launch of the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, it’s available as part of the Android 13 QPR1 Beta 3. The option lives in the Sound & vibration section in system settings.

While Clear Calling was initially discovered in Android 13 code, it doesn’t work on Pixel 6 and older. These devices don’t have the library installed that’s required to make it run. It’s possible that the older Pixels will get the feature at some point, but there could also be hardware limitations in place.

Battery Share toggle

Whenever you plug in your Pixel phone to charge it, it will automatically enable reverse wireless charging for a few minutes to make it easy for you to just drop some earbuds or other accessories on the back of the phone to replenish their batteries, too. With Android 13 QPR1 Beta 3, you finally get a toggle that makes it possible to control this option. If you want to, this allows you to turn off Battery Sharing altogether, with it not going active when you plug in your Pixel. Now, if only the Google Pixel Watch supported wireless Qi charging to take advantage of this staple Pixel phone feature.

New experimental folder animation

As spotted by Esper’s Android expert Mishaal Rahman, there is a new experimental animation when swiping between different pages in a folder on the Pixel Launcher. Instead of the familiar dots in the bottom right corner, indicating that a folder has multiple pages, an experimental flag switches these out with small squares instead. When moving from page to page, a funky animation of one square tumbling into the other accompanies the action, which is equally as playful as the dot-based animation.

Experimental Google Keep note taking button

Another addition spotted by Mishaal Rahman is a new note taking shortcut that’s likely meant for the Google Pixel Tablet once it launches. With a Pixel phone set to a high, tablet-like DPI, a new note-taking shortcut appears in the taskbar at the bottom, which launches a floating Google Keep window when tapped. Right now, the feature’s animations and the icon itself look finicky and unfinished, and it’s clear that this is an early stage for the feature. Still, it’s a neat addition to a tablet interface that we’ve already seen on Samsung and Apple devices.

Miscellaneous changes

There are a ton more smaller changes, but a few of them are worth highlighting:

• Google is still working on its “cinematic” wallpapers. A new, yet to be enabled Wallpaper Effects app is bundled with the Beta 3, and it will be responsible for creating these more beautiful, animated wallpapers.
• The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are supposed to get a free VPN, and Android 13 QPR1 Beta 3 lays the foundation for that. The foundation for a new built-in VPN service has popped up in the build for the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.
• Previous QPR1 betas moved the sound and vibration panel to a pop-up window in the middle of the screen, but the third beta moves it back to the bottom. The only difference to the stable Android 13 now is the fact that the background isn’t darkened anymore.

Gearing up for the Android 13 QPR1 launch

Google is increasingly getting ready to launch the final version of Android 13 QPR1, which is slated to arrive in December. If you can’t wait this long, be sure to learn how to install an Android 13 beta on your Pixel phone. So far, we’ve had a good experience with these betas, but as always, keep in mind that you’re installing pre-release software. Things can occasionally break, and then you might be left without a functioning phone in the worst case.