Android 13 arrives for Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL with LineageOS 20 builds

LineageOS has brought Android 13 to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, four and a half years after the pair debuted with Android 8.0 Oreo. As with other Pixel smartphones, official software support ended in 2020 as of Android 11, three years after their release. However, the Snapdragon 835 powering the pair is only fractionally behind the performance of later Pixel smartphones, such as the Pixel 5 and Pixel 5a and their Snapdragon 765G.

On the one hand, LineageOS 20 provides the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL with a refreshed UI and most of the features that Google bakes into the Android Open Source Project's (AOSP) version of Android 13. On the other hand, the OS also brings current security patches to the pair, with their stock Android 11 distribution now running outdated security software that could be prone to exploitations. Details about all the changes contained within Android 13 can be found on Google's website.

As always, you can only install LineageOS 20 on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL if you are prepared to unlock their bootloaders. Doing so will also delete all user data, but you should be able to restore backed-up data during LineageOS 20's set-up process. Additionally, LineageOS provides detailed installation instructions for both devices, as well as wiki articles. Please note that you do not need to root either device to install and run LineageOS 20. As such, features like Google Wallet should function without issue.

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