Google is rolling out Android 13's improved Pixel battery widget to older Android releases

A new 'Other devices' field now lists further connected accessories

Android 13 Beta 3 is officially out. It definitely looked like more of a minor update at first glance, with the most notable thing about it being its platform stability milestone, but there are definitely a lot of changes on it that you might take a while to come across once you install it on your phone. Among them, you'll find more fine-tuned phone search capabilities or a slightly larger, iOS-like gesture navigation bar. A revamped version of the recently-introduced battery widget was also spotted. It's good news even if you're not a beta user, though, because it's also rolling out to older Android versions as well.

As spotted by 9to5Google, Android 13 Beta 3 landed with an improved battery widget on Pixel phones, which is a lot more flexible regarding resizing. While the previous, more compact setting for the widget was 2x2, the widget can now be resized to a small, tile-like 2x1. There's also a thin 5x1 configuration that can show up to three devices at the same time — if you have Pixel Buds, those would be your phone and both the right and left bud. This change is coming with version 1.1.0.452445739.sr of the Settings Services app, which not only comes bundled with Android 13 Beta 3, but it's also rolling out to Android 12-powered devices. Neat, right?

4 Images

While the widget doesn't show the battery of connected Wear OS/Fitbit watches, one thing the fully-expanded widget does have is an all-new field called "Other devices." It shows a count of other connected Bluetooth devices, and while the count itself might not be the most useful thing in the world — especially if it's not accompanied by a battery count — tapping it will take you to the "Connected devices" section in the Bluetooth settings, making it easier to access.

2 Images

The new version of the app is now rolling out in the Google Play Store, so make sure to update it if you have a Pixel phone — no matter if it's running Android 12 or 13.