Android 17 stable update is rolling out to Pixel phones

Google has officially begun rolling out the stable Android 17 update to eligible Pixel devices, the company announced in a blog post. The update will also be seeded to supported phones from other Android manufacturers throughout 2026. Alongside, Google has released the Android 17 source code to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

The Android 17 stable update is being rolled out to Pixel 6 and later phones. Google notes that select ‘advanced’ Android devices will receive Gemini Intelligence later this summer.

Android 17 brings several new features to Pixel phones such as the App Bubbles, which let users turn any app into a floating window and have it float on top of other apps. Notably, foldable phones and devices with larger screens will also offer a bubble bar at the bottom of the screen to manage the apps.

Foldable devices with Android 17 get a new 50/50 layout in games that offers the game on one side of the screen and a dynamic gamepad on the other. According to Google, the feature will roll out in the coming months.

The Android 17 update also includes the new Screen Reactions feature in screen recording, that lets users record their reactions using the selfie camera while recording the screen.

Google is also bringing new changes to location access. There’s a new ‘one-time precise location’ option available for apps, an updated algorithm for approximate locations, and a redesigned dialogue for “Precise” and “Approximate” location checkboxes.

New security and safety features are available for Find Hub in Android 17. The “Mark as lost” feature now lets users lock a lost or missing device with biometrics.

With Android 17, users can also choose to share only certain contacts with an app instead of sharing their entire contact list. The update also brings updates to Live Threat Detection and Advanced Protection mode.

Android 17 also features a new app memory limit feature that makes sure that apps don’t use too much RAM. There’s an expanded dark theme, a new setting to hide app names on the Home screen, and several other design changes.

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