Android 13: Google has discontinued support for operating system
Android 13 is out. Google already discontinued support for the OS version released in 2022 at the beginning of March.
End of the line for Android 13.
(Image: DANIEL CONSTANTE / Shutterstock.com)
Since the beginning of March 2026, and thus about three and a half years after the introduction of the Android version in August 2022 – initially for Pixel devices –, Google has stopped the development and distribution of security patches. However, the operating system is still widely used; users of a device with the outdated OS should generally look for a new device.
No more security patches
Just under a year after Google ended the distribution of security patches for Android 12 and 12L, the next Android version is now nearing its end. This means that smartphones and tablets for which Android 13 was the last update will no longer receive security updates for the core operating system. Already in the security bulletin from March 2026, there was no mention of Android 13. And since Google has only been delivering security patches quarterly since July 2025, the patch from December 2025 might have already been the very last for the OS version. Any critical security vulnerabilities in the core of the operating system will thus remain. At least Google apps and services, as well as certain OS components that are part of Project Mainline, are updated via Google Play services.
Google has largely transferred the responsibility for security to the device manufacturers. Users can also optionally switch to alternative Android versions such as LineageOS or /e/OS, which, however, rely on security patches from Google from the AOSP, meaning that the Android forks are also incompletely secured.
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Over 400 million devices
If you believe the figures on Google's Android version distribution from December 2025, Android 13 still has a market share of 13.9 percent. While that may not sound like much, considering that over three billion Android devices are in circulation, beyond 417 million are still running on the outdated OS version. In Germany, we can only refer to the approximate values from Statcounter, according to which 11.5 percent of devices in this country are still based on Android 13.
For owners of a smartphone or tablet that is still running Android 13, it would now be time, given the end of support for the operating system, to look for a device that is regularly provided with system-relevant security patches. The update to Android 17 is currently nearing completion and is expected in June 2026.
(afl)
