(Credit: Google)
The next edition of Google’s mobile operating system marked another milestone with the release Thursday of Android 17’s third beta, and the announcement of “platform stability” for that version.
As Google’s post explains, reaching that checkpoint makes Android 17 a non-moving target for app developers: "The API surface is locked; you can perform final compatibility testing and push your Android 17-targeted apps to the Play Store.”
The post recaps major architectural changes for developers to keep in mind: automatic resizing for the larger screens of foldable phones and tablets, read-only restrictions on code loaded into apps at runtime (one way attackers sneak malware onto a phone), and stricter controls on how apps access local networks.
It also notes this beta’s new features for taking and organizing pictures, including support for the high-end RAW14 version of the raw image format. If you wear Bluetooth LE hearing aids, Android 17 will also help you manage them separately from Bluetooth headphones.
If you prefer a minimalist home screen, meanwhile, you’ll get an option to hide app labels there; the post recommends designing “distinct and recognizable” icons, which is advice Google could stand to follow.
Privacy-minded users, meanwhile, may appreciate a new location-permission control that app developers can embed, granting one-time access to the device’s precise location. Another change will automatically hide keystrokes for passwords when typed on physical keyboards by default.
Android 17’s support for post-quantum cryptography may not be so obvious to users, but it may become much more significant in the coming years.
Google shipped the first beta of Android 17 on Feb. 13 (two days after hitting “undo” on a premature announcement), shipped the second beta Feb. 26, and seems on track to show off a near-final release at its I/O developer conference, set for May 19 and 20.
General availability should happen weeks later if Android 17 follows Android 16’s pattern of Pixel phones getting it before devices from Samsung and other third parties. Android users can expect a second major update to Android 17 toward the end of this year with additional features, which, in Android 16’s case, were more noticeable than those in the first release.