A hub mode for tablets could be coming to Android 13
Right now, people do and don’t really know what Android 13 will have in store. People don’t because the software is still in its super early stages. However, they do because the software will share most of the DNA present in Android 13. That being said, Android 13 will definitely bring some goodies when it launches later in the year. One feature will be related to different profiles on the same device. When two or more people share a device, their apps and data remain compartmentalized. This is great if you want your apps to be YOUR apps, but sometimes, you might want to share between profiles. This is where Hub Mode comes in. The Hub Mode will enable people to share their apps with different profiles. If you download a 2GB game on one profile, but a sibling wants to play it on their profile, they’d have to download the app again. With the Hub Mode, you could share the app so that they could also play.
What does this have to do with tablets?
While this is really ostensible, it makes sense. A lot of families buy phones for each individual, but they get a tablet to be shared. It’s the equivalent of having a family computer back in the day. The family usually tends to share the tablet between multiple people and, depending on how many people use the tablet, there will be a lot of apps downloaded. If the family members want to have their own profiles, things would get complicated. So, the Hub Mode would make more sense for tablets than smartphones.
This could mean that Google is finally taking tablets seriously again
Let’s face it; Android is a great competitor to Apple, but that’s if you don’t factor in tablets. Android on tablets has long been neglected. There are barely any tablet-optimized apps on the Play Store and the interface itself is just a stretched-out version of the phone’s software. However, with the changes to Android 12L and, by extension, Android 13, it seems that Google wants to focus on tablets again. Android 12L has already brought some useful changes that make it great for larger screens. This, coupled with Hub Mode, could mean that we’re in for some tablet-friendly features with Android 13.
