Android 17: Everything We Know So Far About Google's Next OS Update

Android 16 was released in June 2025, and it brought a ton of functional and design improvements to Android's overall user experience. Google has now moved to the second phase of Android 16 QPR Betas, and some of its features could be associated with Android 17. While there's still time for the update to gain momentum, here's everything we know about Android 17 so far.

What is Android 17's dessert name?

Android 17's dessert name is Cinnamon Bun. For those unaware, a cinnamon bun is made by rolling sweet dough with a cinnamon-sugar filling, slicing it into spirals and baking until golden. Google may have stopped publicly branding Android versions with dessert names years ago, but internally, the tradition lives on.

Each version still gets a dessert-themed codename in alphabetical order. With Android 16, Google reset the naming scheme back to “B” and dubbed it Baklava, and now we move on to C, which could be Cinnamon Bun. Why not start with A? Because some of the Android 14 QPR builds started with "A". So, to avoid branch conflict, Google went with "B".

We currently don't have any details about Android 17's Easter egg, as it's way too early to know what Google is planning. We should get our first look at it once developer previews start dropping. 

Android 17 potential release timeline: When will it be out?

Considering Android 16 stable rolled out in June 2025, we expect Android 17 to roll out in June 2026. Also, like Android 16, we could see the first Android 17 Developer Preview roll out in November 2025.

The first Android 17 Beta build may roll out in late January 2026 or early February 2026. Either way, the Pixel phones will be first in line, with other OEMs gradually pushing updates by Q3 2026.

Android 17 supported devices

All the Pixel devices from Pixel 6 to the latest Pixel 10 series will get Android 17. Here's a list of Android 17-supported devices.

Google extended software support for Pixel 6, Pixel 7 and Pixel Fold by two years each. Android 15 was supposed to be the last update for the Pixel 6 series, but it should now get Android 16 and 17 with the extended support. The same goes for the Pixel 7 series and Pixel 6a, which will be supported till Android 18.

Android 17 expected features

It's still too soon to talk about the potential features Android 17 could bring to the table. Google recently rolled out Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1 with a handful of new features, and since QPR Betas host features that usually arrive in the next major stable update, the new features could potentially arrive in Android 17.

1. Lock screen widgets

Google rolled out Lock screen widgets in Android 16 QPR2 Beta 1, and they're one of the most requested features on Android. For starters, they reside inside a new Hub mode, a page that can be accessed by swiping left on the lock screen. Hub mode is similar to Today View on iOS and can accommodate both third-party and system widgets.

As of writing this, users can add three widgets per page, and there's no limit on the number of pages. However, the widgets cannot be resized width-wise, and the UI elements in the edit menu overlap in some cases. We expect Google to fix all the annoyances and roll out Lock Screen Widgets to Pixels starting from Android 17.

2. Forced themed icons

Themed icons were introduced in Android 13 with Material You and but with developers not adapting to them, the overall experience is still very inconsistent. OEMs like Nothing force icons to adapt their own iconography, and Pixels could also start doing that with Android 17.

Pixel phones could finally have force-themed icons on Android 17, which, when enabled, adds a tint over the app icons to look slightly more consistent with the rest of the icons. Right now, there's still work to be done in this regard, as the forced-theme icons are still pretty distinguishable from the ones that do support Material You iconography.

3. Desktop mode

Android's Desktop Mode is still under development. It's been a while since we heard any developments about the feature, but considering it was already functional in Android 16 QPR betas, Desktop mode could very well arrive with Android 17.

Some of the recent developments in Desktop Mode include the addition of the taskbar, window snapping, pinning and unpinning apps and launching multiple windows in floating windows. Besides, Google is also working on improving support for external monitors, which could arrive much later.

4. Splitting Notifications and Quick Settings into two pages

Android 16's initial developer previews had a hidden Quick Settings change where users could have separate notifications and Quick Settings pages. OEMs like OnePlus have already added this feature, and Google could follow this route in Android 17.

Android's customisable Quick settings panel revamp is one of the best Material 3 Expressive features. However, Google could further improve it with split notifications and Quick settings. The perks of having them separated are that users can swipe down from the left to see more notifications, or swipe from the right for an extended Quick Settings panel with more options.

5. Notification summary

Google could soon add a Gemini-powered Notification summary feature that could, well, summarise messages from chats. Reports suggest the feature could generate three-line summaries beneath a collapsed notification, making it easier for users to know what the conversation is about without fully opening the message thread.

The summary could appear for notifications that have been idle for three minutes and contain 25–200 words. Google could cap the feature to a maximum of 50 summaries a day, which is weird considering Gemini Nano, which runs on-device, should be comfortable running the feature throughout the day.

Besides, Google is also working on an AI-powered Notification organiser, which will group notifications on the basis of their categories. Google will reportedly also let users disable categorisation for individual apps.

6. Double-tap to turn off screen

Lastly, Google appears to be working on a double-tap gesture to turn off the screen. It was first spotted in one of the Android 16 QPR builds, but it still hasn't made it to the latest QPR builds. Considering Google rolls it out in one of the upcoming Android 16 QPR2 builds, the feature could arrive in Android 17.

As the name suggests, it will let you double-tap on the home screen to turn off your Pixel phone. Many manufacturers already bundle their launchers with the double-tap to turn off gesture.

And that's everything you need to know about Android 17. Since Android 16 has been feature-rich, I expect Android 17 to only bring a few new features and minor upgrades.

It's possible that the features we've mentioned above could roll out in Android 16 itself via future Pixel Drops, but considering how important they are, I believe they could show up in Android 17 instead. There's still time for the first Android 17 Developer Preview to drop, and we should hopefully hear more about what to expect and the rollout timeline. Until then, stay tuned!