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Gemini Intelligence arrives later this year for selected devices.
Shikhar Mehrotra / Digital Trends
After months of rumors and two keynote events in May 2026, Google has finally released Android 17, the stable version. It’s rolling out to eligible Pixel devices today, including models in the Pixel 6 lineup, all the way to the latest Pixel 10 series.
The stable build contains plenty of features showcased at The Android Show and Google I/O, but if you were hoping to get your hands on Gemini Intelligence, that will ship later this summer to “select advanced devices.” With that out of the way, here’s what Android 17 offers at launch.
New Instagram-specific content creation features in Android 17 Google
So what’s actually new in Android 17?
The most immediately useful addition is Bubbles, a feature that lets you access a select number of apps in the form of a floating window over another app or a circular app icon on the screen when minimized.
You can access the feature by long-pressing an app icon and selecting the Bubble option. It’s best suited for your two or three-app workflows, letting you access them one after the other with a single tap on the screen. On foldables and tablets, bubbles dock into a dedicated bar at the bottom of the display.
Android 17 also gets Screen Reactions, a feature that lets you record your phone’s screen along with your face (via the front-facing camera) simultaneously. It’s primarily for content creators, who can now make reaction videos without opening an editing app.
What about gaming, security, and everything else?
On the gaming side, foldables get a new 50/50 layout with the game view up top and a dynamic gamepad below. Google has also made memory cleanup more efficient, so that gamers don’t experience frame drops and stutters while playing demanding video games.
Security gets a meaningful upgrade with features like temporary location permissions and contact-level sharing controls (vs. sharing the entire address book). The Mark as Lost feature in the Find Hub now locks your phone via biometrics so nobody can unlock and reset it with the passcode.
Google also caps PIN guessing, with longer wait times between failed attempts. Rounding out the Android 17 update are hidden app names on the home screen, a dedicated volume slider for your AI assistant (Gemini on Pixel phones), Parental Controls expanding to all Android devices, and app memory limits for preserving system resources.
Today is the day 👀
— Android Developers (@AndroidDev) June 16, 2026While Pixel phones are the first to get the update, expect other OEMs to announce their Android 17-based updates in the coming weeks. Samsung, for instance, is expected to roll out One UI 9 at the second Galaxy Unpacked event of the year, rumored to take place on July 22, 2026. Other brands like OnePlus should follow soon.
For more than five years, Shikhar has consistently simplified developments in the field of consumer tech and presented them…
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