- The first beta of Android 17 is now available
- It includes improvements for large screen devices and performance optimizations
- It also includes some interface changes and finally lets you remove the At a Glance widget.
After a brief delay, the first beta of Android 17 has now arrived, and while it’s not as feature-rich as some versions of Android, some changes could prove extremely important.
Many of the biggest changes are things we already knew to expect, including Google preventing developers from turning off orientation and resizing app requirements. This is a change that might frustrate some app developers, but it should ensure that apps display much better on large-screen devices like tablets and the best foldable phones.
The other major change here isn’t visible but should be noticeable, as the company has been working to improve the performance of Android phones, including adding a new “generational garbage collection” system, which should reduce the load on the processor and decrease memory usage.
Additionally, as expected, this beta also includes smoother camera transitions, with new pro-grade camera APIs aimed at preventing freezes and stutters when switching between lenses.
Alongside these expected changes, the first beta of Android 17 also has a few surprises in store, spotted by Android Central.
These include a slimmer design for the home screen search bar and the ability to replace the AI mode shortcut with other options, such as one for translations, one for weather, one for a dictionary and many more, as you can see in the screenshots above.
Whichever shortcut you choose will also now be in the search bar, rather than next to it, although unfortunately you can only override the AI Mode shortcut, not Voice Search or the Google Lens ones next to it.
Another welcome change is that you can finally remove the At a Glance widget, and there’s a tweak to the volume panel, which now includes a settings icon at the bottom, to quickly take you to the volume settings screen. And speaking of volume, this has now been standardized for a more consistent listening experience across apps.
That’s about all that’s been discovered so far, but it’s possible that other features or changes may still be hiding in the beta – or that future betas will feature more changes.
If you want to try these new features for yourself, as long as you have a Google Pixel 6 or newer, you will be able to do so. Simply go to the Android beta program site, sign in with your Google account, and select the Pixel device you want to install the beta on.
Then on your phone, go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install the beta from there, but be aware that it may contain more bugs than the full Android versions.
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