The 9 biggest things in Android 17

Would it surprise you to hear that Android 17 is packed with new AI-powered features, like better controls and widgets with a vibe? Fortunately, that’s not all. The platform is also getting non-AI updates, from emoji changes to a new preview tool that helps you avoid annoying apps.

Google has just revealed the big changes coming in its next OS update as part of its dedicated Android Show, ahead of next week’s event. general I/O processing assembly. Android software updates came along with the fun of upcoming Googlebook laptops powered by Android and more Android Auto updates. Here are the new updates that are important and when you can expect them to arrive on your phone.

Google has updated Android emoji – all 4,000 of them. The new emojis are slightly more three-dimensional, with depth and detail missing from the cartoon versions they’re changing.

The new emoji will arrive on Pixel phones first, later this year.

This is Google’s latest attempt to inject some digital enhancements into the Android experience. Once you designate certain programs as “disruptive,” a Pause Point will appear every time you try to open them. It won’t stop you from using the app, but it will make you wait 10-seconds, and encourage you to try an exercise or open a more productive app instead – the idea is that it will give you a moment to realize that you’re not doing it. need that doomscroll Bluesky right now after all.

It also lets you set a timer for how long you want to use each app, and has enough friction to prevent you from transferring the timer: It takes a full phone restart to turn off Pause Point.

Google wants to make it easier for up-and-coming developers to integrate videos that play on the web. With this in mind, it is releasing Screen Reactions, which allows you to record a video from your selfie camera with the content of your screen at the same time, all “with a few taps.”

You can draw anything on your computer – photos, videos, web pages, etc. – and it will appear as a cutout in front of it. Screen Reactions will be introduced on Pixel phones first, sometime this summer.

When you create a Quick Share for Android compatible with Apple AirDrop late last year on the Pixel and Galaxy phonesGoogle says that this type of support will be more widespread this year, including phones from Xiaomi, Honor, and OnePlus, in addition to the already announced support from Oppo and Vivo.

For phones that are not compatible, starting today Google is adding the ability to use Quick Share to create a QR code that iPhone users can scan to receive a file directly from iCloud storage. Later this year, Google says it will add Quick Share and AirDrop directly into other apps, including WhatsApp.

Easy iPhone upgrade

Google and Apple have been working together for some time on easy ways to switch from one platform to another. Apple played a role iOS 26.3adding support for a new wireless way to transfer files, contacts, messages, home settings, and eSIMs from an iPhone to an Android device.

It still doesn’t work, though, because it requires a compatible Android 17 device to transfer all of that to. Google says support will arrive this year, starting with Pixel and Galaxy phones.

And now the AI ​​stuff. Rambler is one of the new Android features that Google is putting under “Gemini Intelligence,” which will be rolled out to “the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer.”

The Rambler is one of the funnest of the bunch. It’s a smart real-time writing tool that not only cuts out filler words like “um” or “ah” from your speech, but also makes your message concise and corrects any errors.

In a demonstration at the press event, Google showed the ability to order a shopping list to send a text message. Not only did Rambler make the correct list, but when a Google representative asked Bananas and then changed his mind, he knew he should not be included in the final list at all. It sounds especially good for the multilingual among us, because it can switch between several languages ​​in the same message.

Google must have been impressed There are no Essential App widgets with vibebecause it is bringing his thought as another aspect of Gemini Intelligence.

Create My Widget allows you to create home screen widgets from natural languages. Google offers a food guide that recommends protein-rich recipes, a weather widget for cyclists that prioritizes wind speed and rainfall, or a live feed of upcoming shows at a local concert venue.

Like the Rambler, this will come to select Galaxy and Pixel phones this summer.

Along with Rambler and Create My Widget, Google is replacing Android with other new AI systems. Task Automation, which is already available to bring food and rideshare apps to the latest Samsung and Google smartphones, is adding support for new apps. Google didn’t elaborate on that, though it does hint that Gemini will be able to order groceries from a shopping list in your Notes app or plan a trip based on a photo.

Browse auto on Chrome it will also come to Android at the end of June along with other AI improvements for the browser, while Gemini will appear in Autofill to help you complete forms faster.

Check out my friend Allison Johnson’s Google’s new Android AI announcements for more information on what’s left.

Android 17 also has a spread of minor security updates to the platform. Some of these are designed to protect users from fraud, such as a new agreement with other banks to block calls that spoof their numbers, although they require you to install their banking software.

Malware detection controls suspicious app behavior like sending SMS or running in the background, while Chrome’s secure browsing scans APK downloads for known malware.

There’s also a new security feature for your phone when it’s stolen: You’ll be able to remotely activate biometric security when you flag your phone as lost. Find the Huband Google is reducing the number of attempts someone can make to guess a PIN or password while increasing the wait time between failures.