Overview
- Google is delivering Android 17 Beta 1 over the air to enrolled users through the Android Beta Program, covering Pixel 6 through Pixel 10 devices plus Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold, with a warning to avoid installing on primary phones.
- Google’s changelog makes large‑screen adaptivity mandatory for apps targeting API 37 on sw ≥ 600dp devices, ignoring attributes like screenOrientation and resizeableActivity, with exemptions for smaller devices and games.
- Runtime changes aim to boost smoothness and reliability, including a lock‑free MessageQueue, generational garbage collection in ART, new profiling triggers, and stricter size limits for custom notification views.
- Media and camera updates add platform support for VVC (H.266), a constant‑quality video recording mode in MediaRecorder, dynamic camera session updates to reduce mode‑switch glitches, and background audio hardening.
- Privacy and security tighten with deprecation of android:usesCleartextTraffic in favor of Network Security Configuration and a new HPKE hybrid‑cryptography SPI, alongside observed Pixel Launcher tweaks like a customizable search bar and the option to remove At a Glance.