Google has just announced the release of Android 17 Beta 1 with performance improvements, H.266/VVC video codec support, smoother camera mode transitions, privacy and security enhancements, and more.
The company is not releasing Developer Previews anymore, and instead follows the “continuous Canary channel” announced with the first Android 16 Developer Preview. So, with Android 17, the very first release is the “Beta 1” release.
Some of the key changes in Android 17 so far:
- Developers can’t opt out of orientation and resizability restrictions on large screen devices (sw > 600 dp), so they’ll have to make sure their apps work on tablets, foldables, and desktop windowing environments. With one exception: apps categorized as games with android:appCategory flag. Google published a separate blog post about the change.
- Performance improvements and tools
- Lock-free MessageQueue that will reduce missed frames.
- Added Generational garbage collection to ART’s Concurrent Mark-Compact collector. This aims to reduce overall garbage collection CPU cost and time duration, and the improvement is not only for Android 17, but will be backported to devices running Android 12 (API level 31) and higher through Google Play System updates.
- Static final fields – Apps targeting Android 17 or later won’t be able to modify “static final” fields, allowing the runtime to apply performance optimizations more aggressively.
- Custom notification view restrictions are in place to reduce memory usage. This update closes a loophole that allows apps to bypass existing limits using URIs.
- New performance debugging ProfilingManager triggers – TRIGGER_TYPE_COLD_START, TRIGGER_TYPE_OOM, and TRIGGER_TYPE_KILL_EXCESSIVE_CPU_USAGE. See documentation for details.
- Media and camera
- Dynamic camera session updates enable seamless transitions between camera use cases and modes (such as shooting still images vs shooting videos) and eliminate user-visible glitches or freezes during operation.
- Logical multi-camera device metadata – Developers can now request additional metadata from all active physical cameras involved in a capture, not just the primary one.
- Added Versatile Video Coding (VVC)/H.266 support for devices with hardware decode support and capable drivers.
- Added Constant Quality mode for video recording/encoding.
- Background audio hardening – The audio framework will enforce restrictions on background audio interactions, including audio playback, audio focus requests, and volume change APIs to ensure that these changes are started intentionally by the user.
- Privacy and Security
- Deprecation of Cleartext Traffic attribute. Developers should migrate to Network Security Configuration files for granular control.
- HPKE Hybrid Cryptography – Android 17 provides a public Service Provider Interface (SPI) for an implementation of HPKE hybrid cryptography, enabling secure communication using a combination of public key and symmetric encryption (AEAD).
- Connectivity and Telecom
- Enhanced VoIP Call history – User preference management for caller and participant avatar URIs in the system dialer.
- Wi-Fi Ranging and Proximity – New Proximity Detection capabilities, supporting continuous ranging and secure peer-to-peer discovery. Updates to Wi-Fi Aware ranging include new APIs for peer handles and PMKID caching for 802.11az secure ranging.
- Developer Productivity and Tools
- Two new profiles were added to the CompanionDeviceManager to improve device distinction and permission handling: Medical Devices and Fitness Trackers
- The CompanionDeviceManager also offers a unified dialog for device association and Nearby permission requests.
Android 17 Beta 1 updates are distributed over the air to supported Pixel devices enrolled in the Beta program. Alternatively, Android 17 can be tested using the Android Emulator in Android Studio.
Going forward, Google will put out a major Android 17 SDK release in Q2 2026 with API changes, and a minor SDK release in Q4 2026 with additional APIs and features, but no app-breaking changes. Additional information can be found on the developer site.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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