Android 17 Beta 1 Available For Download Now!

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AI Summarize

Google has officially launched the first beta of Android 17, following the announcement made a few days earlier.

Google changed developers’ access to new Android releases by replacing the traditional Developer Preview model with the Android Canary program, an “always-on” continuous release channel that fundamentally changes the development timeline.

The Canary program offers three critical advantages over the old model. First, developers get faster access to new features and APIs as soon as they pass internal testing, rather than waiting for quarterly releases. Second, the early “battle-testing” in Canary results in a significantly more polished Beta experience, with APIs and behavior changes that are closer to their final form. Third, Canary supports over-the-air (OTA) updates, eliminating the need for manual flashing and integrating more seamlessly with continuous integration workflows.

The Android 17 timeline is notably aggressive. Google plans to reach Platform Stability—delivering final SDK/NDK APIs and largely finalized app-facing behaviors by March 2026. This milestone gives developers several months before the final release to complete their testing and ensure compatibility.

Furthermore, Android 17 will receive updates through a series of quarterly releases throughout the year. The Q2 release will be the only one introducing planned app-breaking behavior changes, while a minor SDK release in Q4 will add additional APIs and features.

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What’s new in Android 17 Beta 1?

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.

Forced Adaptability

Android 17 takes a definitive stance on app adaptability. With API level 37, Google is removing the developer opt-out for orientation and resizability restrictions on large screen devices (those with a smallest width traditional phone form factors, remain unaffected. Additionally, apps categorized as games using the android:appCategory flag are exempt from these restrictions. Most importantly, users retain control through system aspect ratio settings, allowing them to explicitly opt in or out of an app’s default behavior.

Smarter Configuration Change Handling

To improve app compatibility and minimize disruptive experiences like interrupted video playback or dropped input, Android 17 updates how the system handles activity recreation during configuration changes. Previously, certain configuration changes would automatically restart activities, even when the changes didn’t require a complete UI recreation.

Starting with Android 17, the system will no longer restart activities by default for specific configuration changes including keyboard status, navigation type, UI mode (when only desk mode changes), touchscreen configuration, and color mode. Instead, running activities will receive these updates through onConfigurationChanged().

If your application genuinely requires a full restart to reload resources for these changes, you must now explicitly opt in using the new android:recreateOnConfigChanges manifest attribute. This attribute lets you specify which configuration changes should trigger a complete activity lifecycle restart.

Performance Enhancements That Matter

Android 17 delivers several performance improvements that operate beneath the surface but can significantly impact app responsiveness and efficiency.

Lock-static final” fields cannot be modified. Apps targeting Android 17 or later will not be able to modify these fields via reflection—any attempt will result in an IllegalAccessException. Using JNI’s SetStatic<Type>Field methods to modify them will immediately crash the application. This enforcement allows the runtime to apply performance optimizations with confidence.

Custom Notification View Restrictions

To reduce memory usage, Android 17 restricts the size of custom notification views. This update closes a loophole that allowed apps to bypass existing limits using URIs. This behavior change takes effect for apps targeting API 37 and higher.

New ProfilingManager Triggers

Android 17 introduces several new system triggers to ProfilingManager that help developers collect in-depth data for debugging performance issues. These include TRIGGER_TYPE_COLD_START for analyzing app startup performance, TRIGGER_TYPE_OOM for investigating out-of-memory conditions, and TRIGGER_TYPE_KILL_EXCESSIVE_CPU_USAGE for tracking CPU-intensive operations that might lead to system intervention.

Professional-Grade Media and Camera Features

Android 17 brings significant enhancements to media and camera capabilities, delivering tools that rival professional equipment.

Dynamic Camera Session Updates

The new updateOutputConfigurations() method for CameraCaptureSession enables developers to dynamically attach and detach output surfaces without reconfiguring the entire camera capture session. This eliminates the need to configure and maintain all possible camera output surfaces during startup, reducing memory overhead and code complexity.

This feature enables seamless transitions between camera use cases—such as switching from still image capture to video recording—without user-visible glitches or freezes. It’s a game-changer for apps that offer sophisticated camera functionality.

Logical Multi-Camera Device Metadata

When working with logical cameras that combine multiple physical camera sensors, developers can now request additional metadata from all active physical cameras involved in a capture, not just the primary sensor. Previously, developers had to implement workarounds, sometimes allocating unnecessary physical streams, to obtain metadata from secondary active cameras.

The new LOGICAL_MULTI_CAMERA_ADDITIONAL_RESULTS key in CaptureRequest and CaptureResult enables comprehensive metadata access. By setting this key to ON, the TotalCaptureResult will include metadata from additional active physical cameras, which can be accessed using TotalCaptureResult.getPhysicalCameraTotalResults().

Versatile Video Coding (VVC) Support

Android 17 adds support for the Versatile Video Coding (VVC) standard, the next generation of video compression technology. This includes defining the video/vvc MIME type in MediaFormat, adding new VVC profiles in MediaCodecInfo, and integrating support into MediaExtractor. This feature will roll out to devices with hardware decode support and capable drivers, promising significantly improved video quality at lower bitrates.

Constant Quality Video Recording

The new setVideoEncodingQuality() method for MediaRecorder allows developers to configure constant quality (CQ) mode for video encoders. This provides finer control over video quality beyond simple bitrate settings, enabling apps to prioritize quality consistency over file size predictability.

Background Audio Hardening

To ensure audio interactions are initiated intentionally by users, Android 17 enforces restrictions on background audio interactions including playback, audio focus requests, and volume change APIs. If an app attempts to call audio APIs while not in a valid lifecycle state, audio playback and volume change APIs will fail silently, while audio focus APIs will return AUDIOFOCUS_REQUEST_FAILED.

Privacy and Security Reinforcements

Deprecation of Cleartext Traffic Attribute

The android:usesCleartextTraffic attribute is now deprecated. Apps targeting Android 17 or higher that rely on usesCleartextTraffic="true" without a corresponding Network Security Configuration will default to disallowing cleartext traffic. Google encourages developers to migrate to Network Security Configuration files for granular control over network security policies.

HPKE Hybrid Cryptography

Android 17 introduces a public Service Provider Interface (SPI) for HPKE hybrid cryptography implementation. This enables secure communication using a combination of public key and symmetric encryption (AEAD), providing developers with modern cryptographic tools for protecting user data.

Connectivity and Telecom Improvements

Enhanced VoIP Call History

Android 17 introduces user preference management for app VoIP call history integration. This includes support for caller and participant avatar URIs in the system dialer, enabling granular user control over call log privacy and enriching the visual display of integrated VoIP call logs.

Wi-Fi Ranging and Proximity

Wi-Fi Ranging receives significant enhancements with 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 11az secure ranging, opening up new possibilities for location-aware applications.

Developer Productivity Enhancements

Updates for Companion Device Apps

Android 17 introduces two new profiles to CompanionDeviceManager that improve device distinction and permission handling:

The Medical Devices profile allows medical device mobile applications to request all necessary permissions with a single tap, dramatically simplifying the setup process for health-related companion apps. The Fitness Trackers profile (DEVICE_PROFILE_FITNESS_TRACKER) allows companion apps to explicitly indicate they’re managing a fitness tracker, ensuring accurate user experiences with distinct icons while reusing existing watch role permissions.

Additionally, CompanionDeviceManager now offers a unified dialog for device association and Nearby permission requests. The new setExtraPermissions() method in AssociationRequest.Builder lets developers bundle nearby permission prompts within the existing association flow, reducing the number of dialogs presented to users.

How to download Android 17 Beta 1?

Developers can enroll any supported Pixel device to receive Android 17 Beta and future updates over-the-air. For those without compatible hardware, 64-bit system images are available for use with the Android Emulator in Android Studio Panda, the latest preview version optimized for Android 17 development.

Current Android Beta program participants will automatically receive an over-the-air update to Beta 1. However, developers currently on Android 26Q1 Beta who want to take the final stable release and exit Beta should ignore the OTA update to 26Q2 Beta 1 and wait for the 26Q1 release.

List of Google Pixel devices receiving Android 17

According to the updated Google software updates support page, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series devices will receive Android 17. Google extended its software support to five years of OS updates, explicitly covering these models.

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 XL
Pixel 9 Pro
Pixel 9 Pro Fold
Pixel 9a
Pixel 10
Pixel 10 Pro XL
Pixel 10 Pro
Pixel 10 Pro Fold

Download links

The Android 17 Beta will be available soon. You can skip the manual installation, like the factory image, and receive the OTA on your device. The easiest way is to sign up your Pixel device into Android Beta Program. Sign in with your Google Account associated with your Pixel phone and follow the instructions.

Alternatively, you can get Android 16 on select Pixel devices by downloading the full Factory Images listed below and installing them via the new Android Flash Tool portal.

You will need to enable USB Debugging (ADB access) and OEM Unlocking before flashing the Android beta 1.