Already available to owners of Google-branded phones, Android 13 has made it much easier for employees to maintain a work-life balance, while IT admins have more control than ever before over the restrictions on how business devices can be used.
Google has provided further information(opens in new tab) regarding the plethora of new security and quality-of-life features it claims are intended to simplify the lives of business users as part of the rollout of Android 13(opens in new tab). It’s safe to assume that business smartphone users stand to benefit from the new update as well, even though the features intended at professionals may be more understated than those aimed at a consumer audience.
Highlights
It’s now simple for employees to separate personal and work profiles as well as navigate between them, while admin policies can still police both sides.
Work profiles have been a feature of Android’s business settings for a while, separating and protecting an employee’s personal data. One of the biggest quality-of-life changes in Android 13, however, is how work and personal profiles are managed.
According to Google, the updated Android Management API won’t just provide immediate ease-of-use and privacy to business phone users, but will allow the company to continue to release “helpful new features and management capabilities more frequently”.
“Employees can choose to open an app in either their work or personal profile, depending on where it’s installed,” Google noted. “If they’d prefer to keep work-related content out of their personal 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.”
This should mean that employees and IT admins alike aren’t kept waiting until Android 14 for further quality-of-life adjustments to their business phone experience.An additional level of ChromeOS integration is also on the way, bringing Google one step closer to matching the seamless integration between Apple’s iOS and macOS that makes an all-Apple organization such an appealing business proposition.
The changes will allow users to view and respond to messages and data on their phone from a business Chromebook.But that’s not all, Google’s Smart Dictation recommendations are now separated across profiles, so users will never send a text message ending in ‘Kind regards’ to a family member again.
Near-field communication (NFC) is now also available on work profiles, making it even quicker to use tap-to-pay services in public, which is sure to save valuable time on that trip to the coffee shop over lunch.With Google’s new productivity features for Android 13, the company has made its Pixel devices – and other Android smartphones, soon to benefit from the new OS – a compelling proposition for business buyers.