Android 13 introduces new ways for businesses using Android Enterprise to get more out of their devices, including an improved Android Management API, an easier-to-use work profile, and more ways for IT administrators to manage and protect company and employee devices. Let's look more closely at these new business features.
More personalized experiences
Android phone screen with apps in the work profile and the text "Separate work apps from personal apps to stay organized."
With Android 13, the Android Management API expands beyond simply managing device policies. Employee experiences on corporate devices, such as device provisioning and user settings, can now be customized. This also means that the Android Enterprise team will be able to release useful new features and management capabilities more frequently, beginning with Android 13 devices.
Work profile navigation has been simplified.
Android phone screen displaying the "default payment app," which includes Amex and Google Pay options.
Work profile already assists in keeping company data accessible and secure. In contrast, personal profile data remains private and separate on a single device. Work profile in Android 13 provides an even more seamless experience for employees, with a simpler design, increased productivity, and new cross-device capabilities.
Navigating work and personal profiles are now easier while adhering to cross-profile admin policies. Depending on where an app is installed, employees can open it in either their work or personal profile. If they'd prefer to keep work-related content out of their individual apps — so a work-related training video on YouTube doesn't affect their personal watchlist, for example — they can choose to access that content in their browser instead. When sharing photos with an app, employees can also toggle between work and personal photo galleries, granting access to only selected files instead than their entire media library.
Also Read: How We're Making It Simpler To Share Files With Devices Nearby
You'll also find more productivity tools in your work profile. Smart dictation is now available in work profile apps on Pixel devices, allowing Android's dictation recommendations to remain separate — keeping corporate jargon dictated for work emails separate from personal chats. NFC from work apps is now available on all Android 13 devices, enabling use cases such as digital access badges and tap-to-pay from work profiles.
More productivity features will be added to Android 13 soon, thanks to new integrations between Phone Hub and Android and ChromeOS. Employees will be able to securely respond to and access work information on their phones from their corporate Chromebooks, including messages, notifications, and pictures. End-to-end encryption and company management policies will protect those interactions.
Security and privacy are built in.
Android phone screen with a lock icon and the text "Blocked by your IT administrator."
Android Enterprise's security protections get stronger with each release, thanks to new management capabilities, user controls, and platform improvements.
Employees, for example, can maintain device security and privacy settings and view company policies applied to the device, as well as device data shared with IT admins, on a new central hub.
Android 13 also gives IT administrators more control over Wi-Fi connectivity on devices for features such as Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi tethering. It includes security logs for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and password activities, as the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) requires.In addition, Android 13 has did add Bluetooth and ultra-wideband (UWB) to the list of far more than 30 modules that can be remotely updated via Google System Updates for faster security patches.
Android 13 will soon get new features like Lost Mode and Stay Private on Work Wi-Fi. IT administrators can use Lost Mode to lock down and locate company-owned devices, prevent unauthorized access, and display company contact information on the device's screen. Meanwhile, Stay Private on Work Wi-Fi will enhance employee privacy even further by automatically encrypting and routing network traffic for personal profiles when employees use company Wi-Fi. The Android Management API will provide access to both features.
Are you ready to put Android 13 to work for your company? Sign up for our September 29 webinar to learn more about how Android 13 is assisting today's working world.
Source: Google Blog