Android 17 Features: What’s New and What Changes on Your Phone

Android 17 doesn't reinvent your phone, but it changes a lot of small things you touch every day. The stable release reached Pixel phones on June 16, 2026, and Samsung began shipping it as One UI 9 in September. Here are the features worth knowing about, what they do, and which ones depend on your phone maker.

A glassier, more layered look

The most visible change is design. Android 17 extends the frosted-glass blur effect that started in Android 16's Material 3 Expressive update to more of the system. The volume panel, power menu and other overlays now blur whatever sits behind them instead of using flat, solid backgrounds. The result feels lighter and makes it easier to tell which layer you're interacting with.

On Pixel phones you'll see this right away. Samsung, Xiaomi and other brands apply their own visual style on top, so the effect may look different, or be absent, on their skins.

An optional split notification shade

Android 17 adds a layout borrowed from tablets and other platforms. When you turn it on, swiping down from the top left opens your notifications, and swiping from the top right opens Quick Settings. If you prefer the classic single shade, you can keep it. Big-screen phone users tend to like the split version because Quick Settings no longer pushes notifications out of the way.

Bubbles for more apps

Chat bubbles have existed since Android 11, but they were limited to messaging apps. Android 17 widens the idea so more apps can open in a small floating window above whatever you're doing. You can check a calculator, note or chat while a video keeps playing, then collapse it back into a bubble.

A more capable desktop mode

Connecting a phone or tablet to an external monitor gets a real upgrade. Android 17 improves the taskbar, freeform floating windows and picture-in-picture, which makes the setup feel closer to a laptop. This builds on the desktop windowing Google introduced for tablets in Android 16 and fits its wider plan to bring Android to bigger screens.

Privacy and security upgrades

Several changes give you tighter control over your data:

• Contacts picker: instead of giving an app your entire address book, you can pick specific contacts and even specific fields, like just a phone number. The app only gets temporary access to what you chose.
• Local network protection: apps now need your permission before they can scan for or connect to other devices on your Wi-Fi network, such as printers, speakers or smart home gear.
• Screen color picking without screen capture: a new system color picker lets design and photo apps grab a color from your screen without asking for permission to record it.
• Stronger theft protection: Google tightened Factory Reset Protection and added safeguards around one-time SMS codes, which makes a stolen phone harder to reuse or exploit.

Changes for tablets and foldables

On large screens, apps can no longer refuse to rotate or resize. In Android 16, developers could still opt out and force their app into a narrow portrait window on a tablet. Android 17 removes that escape hatch on devices with large displays, so apps fill the screen properly. A few older apps may look stretched until their developers update them, but most will simply feel more natural on a foldable.

Under-the-hood improvements

Some changes are invisible but still matter:

• Background audio rules: apps face stricter limits on starting playback, grabbing audio focus or changing volume while they're in the background. That should mean fewer surprise sounds from apps you aren't using.
• Memory limits: apps that use far too much memory are reined in more firmly, which helps keep the rest of the system smooth.
• New video format: phones with the right hardware decoder can play VVC (H.266) video, a newer codec that offers better quality at smaller file sizes.

Which Android 17 features depend on your phone?

Pixel phones get Google's version of every feature first. Samsung's One UI 9 includes the core Android 17 changes, such as the privacy controls and large-screen rules, but it keeps Samsung's own design, so blur effects, Quick Settings layout and desktop mode (Samsung DeX) look and behave differently. The same applies to Xiaomi's HyperOS, OnePlus's OxygenOS and other skins. Hardware-dependent features like VVC playback also need a compatible chip.

If you're not sure when your phone will get the update, see our guide on when Android 17 came out and which phones get it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Android 17 a big update?

It's a meaningful update, but not a redesign. Most changes refine Android 16's look and add privacy, multitasking and large-screen improvements.

Can I turn off the split notification shade?

Yes. The split layout is optional, and you can switch back to the classic single shade in Settings.

Does Android 17 improve battery life?

Stricter background limits for audio and memory can help, but real-world battery life still depends mostly on your phone's hardware and the apps you use.

What is Android 17 called?

Publicly it's just Android 17. Inside Google, the release was codenamed "Cinnamon Bun."