As revealed by XDA (via Esper), the redesigned media player UI with Android 13 has a larger pause/play button situated on the right side. This is in contrast to Android 12, where the pause/play button is situated between the forward and rewind buttons. The rewind and forward buttons still exist with the new implementation. But they are repositioned with the emphasis now on pausing or playing media. There’s also a progress bar with the new media player UI, a feature that doesn’t exist with Android 12. While the album art isn’t visible at the moment, it could arrive with future dev previews of Android 13. It’s important to note that Android 13 Dev Preview 1 doesn’t include this feature by default. However, users can toggle it with a SystemUI flag.
Android 13 will also bring a new media output picker
Google is also introducing a new media output picker UI with Android 13 DP1. This option is situated on the top right corner of the media player, allowing users to choose where the media is played. This lets users switch the audio source from the phone speaker to Bluetooth speakers or headphones. The output picker will offer a bigger volume slider with Android 13, making it easier to increase or decrease the volume. The Media Tap To Transfer Feature appears to be in development, so its functionality is unclear right now. But the feature’s command-line interface is visible with the help of a SystemUI flag. The commands reveal the term “MoveCloserToStartCast,” suggesting this could allow seamless media playback transfer to nearby devices. One of the screenshots shows the “Playing on TEST DEVICE” popup on top of the screen with an Undo button next to it. Most of these features are still in development. So we may have to wait a while to understand how they work. But Android 13 DP1 has several other features worth being excited about, including themed icons for all apps and a new Silent Mode. The newer iteration of Silent Mode on Android 13 can kill vibrations at a system level. While this is a minor feature, it will undoubtedly ensure your Android 13 devices stay even quieter. We assume Google will allow users to customize this feature via Settings.
