Android 17 review: Bubbling with excitement

The last few Android releases have all been about refinement instead of overhaul. We're well past the point where a new version of Android introduces a boatload of new features; instead, Google is all about tightening the security, making Android easier to use across form factors, and delivering a consistent design.

That's the case with Android 17 as well. There's a decent selection of new stuff this time — including a new multitasking mode that actually makes sense — but the overarching theme is around usability; whether you're on a foldable, tablet, in the car, or a regular phone, Google wants to make Android 17 look and feel the same across all your devices.

The stable Android 17 build is now available on eligible Pixels, and it will be rolling out to other manufacturers' devices over the coming months. That's not all; Google is bringing a slate of Gemini Intelligence features to select Pixels and Samsung devices with a mission to turn Android 17 into an "intelligence system," and these features — including Rambler in Gboard, Create My Widget and AI-assisted task automation will be rolling out in a few months. Oh, and there will be another minor Android release coming later in the year.

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I'm a long-time Pixel user (I still have the 2016 Pixel), and installed the stable Android 17 build on my Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro XL and Pixel 10 Pro Fold. While the stable build just became available, I've been using the beta releases for months now, so let's dive in and take a look at what Android 17 is all about.

Bubbles makes multitasking easier than ever before

Google introduced chat bubbles in Android 11, but it never really made much sense to use it — at least on my devices. With Android 17, Google is taking that idea and making it so that bubbles aren't just limited to messaging apps, but can be used throughout the system.

When you launch an app as a bubble, it exists as a floating window, and you can interact with it while using other apps. Most other manufacturer skins had floating windows for a while now, so the feature itself isn't anything new — it's just coming to Pixels with Android 17.

Let's say you're watching a game and want to chat with your friends; you can just launch the messaging app as a bubble, and interact with it as needed while still letting the game run. It is different to split-screen multitasking in that the second app isn't taking up any valuable screen space — you only pull it up when you need it, and I like this implementation a lot.

In my use, I found having Home Assistant or Google Home as a floating window quite convenient, as it allowed me to access smart home controls while browsing in Chrome or watching a video. The floating window is even more useful on foldables, where you see a bubble bar on the bottom right corner, with all active floating windows pinned there.

While the feature is definitely useful, a big limitation is that you can't launch an app as a bubble from the recents menu. That would have made the feature much easier to enable; right now, you'll need to long press an app icon, and select Bubble to launch it as a floating window. The other big limitation is that it may not come to third-party launchers, so its usability will be limited if you're not using the Pixel Launcher.

Foldables get some extra attention in Android 17

Foldables continue to get useful updates, and Android 17 has a new feature I'm very excited about. Google is rolling out a foldable-focused gaming mode with an optimized 50/50 layout — you basically get the game running on one half of the screen, and a gamepad below. Google also says it made high-end games run better on foldables by reducing jitter. The only annoyance is that this feature isn't available at launch; it's due to be roll out over the coming months, so if you're using the Pixel 9 Pro Fold or 10 Pro Fold, you'll need to wait a little longer.

Another welcome addition is native controller remapping, which is coming to all phones. If you use a game controller with your phone or foldable, you'll be able to easily customize the button layout and tweak the configuration to your liking.

Customize your Pixel the way you want

As with every new version, Android 17 brings a set of customization options and minor tweaks to the interface. The feature I like the most is the ability to hide app labels on the home screen; this creates a cleaner look, and makes things look just that little bit tidier (sidebar: this is what Xiaomi should have done instead of hiding labels on quick settings tiles).

Another change is around the Expanded Dark Theme; you now get the ability to disable the mode on an individual per-app basis, so if you're using the expanded dark mode but an app isn't showing content correctly (looking at you, Amazon), you can disable it only for the app, which reverts to the usual dark mode.

Google is also expanding the background blur effect that debuted with Material 3 Expressive to other parts of the interface, like the widgets picker. I like the blur effects, but I get that not everyone is a fan of the new design; thankfully, you can disable it by going to Accessibility -> Color and motion.

There's a minor change to the quick settings page; the Wi-Fi and mobile data toggles are separate, and this time, I'm crossing my fingers that Google doesn't mess with these toggles again. Android 17 also brings granular media control, with a dedicated slider for controlling the digital assistant volume.

Screen recording is getting an update in Android 17 with Screen Reactions. You get the ability to record your screen and add yourself as an overlay by taking a video with the selfie camera, and the idea is to make it easier to record reaction videos. The feature is available in the U.S., and Google notes it will be rolling out to other regions in the coming months.

Android 17 is getting sensible parental controls

Google isn't doing quite as much as Apple when it comes to parental controls, but Android 17 is a step in the right direction. You now get parental controls in the settings, and you can set daily limits for your child, downtime schedules, individual app limits, Google Play filters with age rating, and easier access to Family Link controls. Thankfully, these features are available right now, so if you've got children and need to set up usage limits, you can do so on your Pixel straight away.

Android 17 has meaningful security updates

Google is making Theft Detection Lock and Remote Lock enabled by default when you set up a phone running Android 17. These were opt-in, and considering where they're located in the settings, there's a good chance that most users don't even know they exist, so this is a positive move.

Find Hub’s Mark as lost feature now gets biometric authentication, so if you lose your phone and the thieves have your passcode, they won't be able to turn off device tracking. When you mark your phone as lost, it will prevent access to Quick Settings and disable new Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.

Android 17 gets a new Contact Picker that lets you only share specific contacts to share instead of your entire address book. Location access is getting better too with a new Location Button; if an app just needs location access once, it will instead need to use a system-rendered button that ensures the access is valid only in that session — once you close the app, it won't have access. Best of all, if a non-system app is using your location, you'll see an indicator in the status bar, similar to how it works with camera and mic access.

We're getting a consistent UX on all devices

Google's software isn't just on phones — it's on wearables, tablets, TVs, automobiles, notebooks, and is coming soon to XR headsets. At The Android Show 2026, Google highlighted how it's bringing a consistent UX to all devices in its ecosystem, and Android 17 provides the foundation for the same.

In Android 17, apps automatically adapt to any screen size, and this allows content to be immersive on any device you're using. The idea is to prevent letterboxing (black bars around the sides) and deliver the same consistent interface on all devices.

There's also unified widgets with better scaling on all screen sizes, and a Picture-in-Picture mode that lets you interact with the pinned windows. This is primarily designed for use on desktops, and we should be seeing just how it works over the comin months.

Google has a new feature called Continue On that brings "cross-device continuity." The idea is that if you're browsing a Chrome tab on your phone, you can easily continue the same tab on a tablet. The feature isn't live yet, and Google notes that it is prioritizing mobile-to-tablet transitions in the beginning. I'm intrigued to see how it works in day-to-day use, but I'll need to wait until I can use it on a tablet that's updated to Android 17.

There's much more to talk about Android 17

As is the case with every new version of Android, a lot of the features in Android 17 aren't available today. So if you've installed the stable build on your Pixel, you won't find any major changes other than the ability to use bubbles with all apps. Things like Pause Point and Create My Widget are the Android 17 features I wanted to try out the most, but they're coming later in the year.

Also, Android 17-based One UI, ColorOS, and OriginOS will look very different to what Google is offering on Pixels, and that's again a good thing; Android is all about choice, and you have the freedom to use which version of the OS you prefer. Of course, there's an interminable delay before you can use the latest Android version on your phone, and I have a post detailing if your phone will get Android 17.

Most manufacturer interfaces have distinct features — some of which (like floating windows) are rolling out to Pixels just now — and a UI that's quite different to what you get on recent Pixels. There's no telling when (or if) these Android 17 features will make their way to the broader ecosystem of devices. I'll have dedicated posts talking about what the Android 17 update has to offer on third-party phones, but for now, if you're using a Pixel, know that the best features in Android 17 (and whatever's going on with Gemini Intelligence) are yet to come.