Delayed] Google launches Android 17 Beta for Pixel

Given the continuous Android Canary channel, the next major version of Google’s mobile OS is debuting as a Beta release. Android 17 Beta 1 is rolling out today to Pixel devices.

Update: Google cancels today’s Android 17 Beta 1 release

Android Canary was introduced in June as a way for Google to test “cutting-edge builds” with “pre-release Android APIs and potential upcoming behavior changes.” Replacing Developer Previews, Google touts three benefits to this approach:

• Faster Access: Features and APIs land in Canary as soon as they pass internal testing, rather than waiting for a quarterly release.
• Better Stability: Early “battle-testing” in Canary results in a more polished Beta experience with new APIs and behavior changes that are closer to being final.
• Easier Testing: Canary supports OTA updates (no more manual flashing) and, as a separate update channel, more easily integrates with CI workflows and gives you the earliest window to give immediate feedback on upcoming potential changes.

Android 17 continues Google’s work on adaptive apps that do not feature a letterbox and span the full width of large screen devices. The developer opt-out from last year has been removed for applications targeting API level 37. This does not apply to games.

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Users expect their apps to work everywhere—whether multitasking on a tablet, unfolding a device, or using a desktop windowing environment—and they expect the UI to fill the space and respect their device posture.

Performance is another Android 17 tentpole, with various improvements to reduce missed frames, lower garbage collection CPU costs, implement more aggressive optimizations, and reduce notification memory usage. 

On the media and camera front, Android 17 touts professional-grade tools like more “seamless transitions between camera use cases and modes” to help “avoid user-visible glitches or freezes during operation.” Google is also introducing a loudness management API to “provide a more consistent listening experience across applications and hardware.” 

You can find all the app developer changes, including across privacy, security, connectivity, telecom, and developer tools, here.

You can leave feedback with the Android Beta Feedback app on Pixel devices. Access it from the drawer or Quick Settings to file bugs in the Google issue tracker. There’s also the Android Beta community on Reddit.

Android 17 Beta 1 system images are available for the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8a, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel 9a, Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold, as well as the Android Emulator.

You can easily join via the Android Beta Program to get an on-device OTA. Those currently enrolled on 16 QPR3 Beta 2.1 have to leave the program before installing 17 Beta 1 to return to stable without a data wipe. Otherwise, the next opportunity for that is in June.

Following Beta 1, Platform Stability is targeted for March with “final SDK/NDK APIs and largely final app-facing behaviors.” The final release is coming “several months” after that, or June.

This 26Q2 release is the major SDK release this year with behavior changes, new APIs, and features. It will be followed by 26Q3 (17 QPR1) and 26Q4 (17 QPR2) with a minor SDK release, while 27Q1 (17 QPR3) will round out Android 17.