Android 13 Beta 1 adds a handy clipboard overlay that lets you edit what you copy

Change what you copy — if you're fast enough

Android 13 has so far given us a number of big-ticket features like more granular permissions for notifications and media controls, improvements to the Material You color-picking system, and further improvements to Android's tablet interface. And with the release of Android 13 Beta 1, there are a few other minor features to rave about — particularly if you're into squiggles.

The first public beta also debuts a new clipboard overlay that the company teased, but didn't release, in the second Android 13 developer preview. At its core, it's an expansion of the screenshot editing overlay Google introduced in Android 11, providing more context about what you copied and allowing you, if desired, to edit it. For text, that means a straightforward text-editing box to correct any errors before following through with the copy itself — including URLs. For images, however, tapping the edit button opens up the markup box that lets you crop, highlight, or add text to whatever you're copying.

It's a simple addition that, in practice, makes a lot of sense to the core Android experience, especially given how often one is copying text without inspecting its content. The overlay doesn't add any extra steps to the process — you can ignore it completely and nothing changes in your existing workflow — but if you do spot an error, you now have around five seconds to fix it because the bottom-left pop-up disappears.

It's pretty easy to install Android 13 Beta 1 if you have a Pixel — and even if you don't — and we're tracking all the other new features, including new Material You theming options and lock screen smart home controls.