What you need to know
- Honor announced that it's entering Android 17 Beta 3 with the Magic 8 Pro, and it's bringing developers along, too.
- Devs will get access to Honor's expanded "Bubbles" feature for multitasking, as well as the inclusion of the RAW14 format for photos.
- Significant security defenses are rolling onto the Magic 8 Pro, as it gets going in Android 17 Beta 3.
Android 17 slows down for no one, and Honor announced its entry into testing with developers on a notable phone.
On May 12, Honor announced in a press release that its Magic 8 Pro will be "among the first in the industry" to support Android 17 Beta 3. Now that it's onboard, Honor states developers can get involved with the early testing to see what's coming up and to begin refining their work. Leading off what's possible in the Android 17 beta for the Magic 8 Pro is Honor's expanded "Bubbles" feature. This cutely named feature is said to enhance the multitasking capabilities.
Honor states, "This allows apps to be quickly minimized to a floating icon and recalled from anywhere on the screen, creating a seamless multitasking experience." Moreover, users can keep important tools at the ready even when switching between other apps on their phones.
The photographic capabilities of the Magic 8 Pro were a bright spot during its launch, and its Android 17 Beta 3 involvement continues that focus. This beta reportedly brings native support for the RAW14 image format. This has become the industry standard for "high-end digital photography." Third-party camera/editing programs will be able to utilize Honor's optics and sensors to capture and handle everything one would need for their photos.
The visual experience of your phone gets a boost in Beta 3. Honor says that users can now hide app labels, while developers get the option of tailoring the Photo Picker "by modifying the grid view aspect ratio." This gives more options, such as 1:1 (square) or 9:16 (portrait display). Android 17 Beta 3 will also expand Dark Themes access to cover more of the system.
Major strides forward
In the beta, users will find that Honor's Quick Settings menu has split their Wi-Fi and mobile data into separate tiles. This should help with quicker management of those connections. Moreover, a redesigned screen recording menu lets users decide more adequately how much of their screen or app they'd like to capture.
With a new Android OS beta comes increased security protections for users. Honor's system will provide a Location button, enabling apps that require "precise" locations to only do so for the "current session." Honor states this should help users reduce how much private information they're sharing with apps (background tracking). Additional defenses help protect Android users from "injection attacks" over a network and more, thanks to Post-Quantum Cryptography adoption.
Android Central's Take
Honor's really been on its AI kick as of late. I mean, there was that whole Robot Phone, remember? While we can expect it to have loads of AI software ready if users want them in Android 17, it's good to see it still focusing on other areas. The photography upgrades it talked about sound appealing. I enjoy taking photos, so seeing RAW14 coming into play sounds great. It's not something everyone will use, as RAW files are typically good if you're editing pictures. I'm sure there will be more than feel more common and practical for everyone else, too.
