Though it’s in the software, this new photo picker is actually hidden by default. It takes some further digging and enabling settings to get it up and running.
This QPR3 beta brought the new photo picker, but how is it different?
There are a few interesting things of note with this photo picker. Firstly, when you bring it up, you’ll see that it’s organized. There are two chips at the top. One shows you your photos, and the other one shows you your albums. This comes in handy when you want to share more than one photo with an app. What’s, perhaps, the most interesting and useful thing with this photo picker is the fact that you can use it without granting the app permission to all of your photos. Being able to keep more apps from accessing essential parts of the software (while getting the same amount of work done) is a great thing. If you want to use this new photo picker, then you’re going to be out of luck. This feature is not ready for prime-time just yet. It’s hidden in the system by default and, even after enabling it, you shouldn’t expect full functionality. This is something that you should look forward to in the stable release of Android 13.
How to get the new update
So, the latest QPR3 beta brings a new photo picker, and you’re wondering what other features there are. Well, if you have a Pixel 4 or above, you can get this update and get the latest beta. Go to your settings and find the System section. About halfway down, you should see the Update section. Tap on it and tap the button on the bottom to search for the latest update. If the system finds it, you can then download and install it. Just make sure that your phone is charged a fair amount. If you don’t want to wait for the OTA, then you can manually flash it to your phone. This method is really risky, so you should only do it if you’re tech-savvy.