A number of readers around these parts are part of the Android beta program and likely running an Android 13 beta before updating to today’s stable build. If you’re curious, it’s a good idea to still be in the Android Beta Program, as a new beta update for Android 13 is coming next week.
On Reddit, the Android team posted on the Android_Beta subreddit to announce the rollout of Android 13 and provide some clear answers about the future of betas. Here’s what we know.
Next Android 13 beta update
The Android 13 beta program will continue and you can stay in it if you want to test the new release. The next Android 13 beta release will bring us back to a quarterly platform release (QPR) testing period, with the first coming in September.
What is a QPR? Well, we started experimenting with Android 12 this year. June’s Android update was a QPR3 and offered tons of tweaks and bug fixes to the platform. Once released to everyone, it’s also a Pixel feature drop update. For Android 13 betas, we’ll start our testing with a similar QPR build. In short, a QPR is a simple platform update, usually a monthly security patch that can offer new features, but also squash all sorts of bugs.
If you’re in the Android beta program, you’ll automatically get the next Android 13 beta in September.
Not enrolling from Android beta
Let’s say you don’t want to continue testing the Android 13 beta build, how do you get out? Pretty simple. Once you’ve received the stable update to Android 13, you’ll need to go to the Android Beta site (here) and click the “Opt Out” button at the bottom of your device. It really is that simple.
There is one thing to remember – if you want to opt-out, you should do so only after receiving the official Android 13 update. As long as you can opt-out before that first Android 13 QPR1 update, you’ll be able to enroll without having to factory reset your phone. If you wait until that first QPR1 update hits and decide to exit the program, you’ll need to completely wipe your phone.
And that’s it! You can continue testing the Android 13 beta build if you want, or you can opt-out of the program once you get the official Android 13 update.