Android 17’s new features can make ordinary phones more interesting

Android 17 is getting a dedicated foldable gaming system that places the gaming app with controls on half of your screen for easy gaming.

It’s a game changer, due to be launched in the coming months, the controller emulates a touchpad on the system’s desktop and is designed to work “with any game that supports physical controllers,” says Google’s Mishaal Rahman on Reddit. For real-time input, the controller consists of a D-pad; sticks almost to the left and right; A, B, X, and Y buttons; L1, L2, L3; R1, R2, and R3; and the start button. And you’ll be able to customize the game in a number of ways, such as keeping the haptics in the middle or moving them away from each other, increasing the size of the buttons, and turning haptics on or off.

Turning on the feature “is as easy as unlocking your device, before or after launching a compatible game,” says Rahman. You can also choose to hide the gamepad, and if you connect the physical controller, the actual gamepad will turn off automatically.

“Android lets you play a variety of games on the go,” says Rahman. “While touch controls work well for most titles, some games are more fun to play with. The problem is that carrying a Bluetooth controller or snap-on gamepad with you everywhere isn’t always practical.