User Experience & System UI

Bubbles

Bubbles is a windowing mode feature that offers a new floating UI experience separate from the messaging bubbles API. Users can create an app bubble on their phone, foldable, or tablet by long-pressing an app icon on the launcher. On large screens, there is a bubble bar as part of the taskbar where users can organize, move between, and move bubbles to and from anchored points on the screen.

A new system-level EyeDropper API allows your app to request a color from any pixel on the display without requiring sensitive screen capture permissions.

Contacts Picker

A new system-level contacts picker via ACTION_PICK_CONTACTS grants temporary, session-based read access to only the specific data fields requested by the user, reducing the need for the broad READ_CONTACTS permissions. It also allows for selections from the device’s personal or work profiles.

Easier pointer capture compatibility with touchpads

Previously, touchpads reported events in a very different way from mice when an app had captured the pointer, reporting the locations of fingers on the pad rather than the relative movements that would be reported by a mouse. This made it quite difficult to support touchpads properly in first-person games. Now, by default the system will recognize pointer movement and scrolling gestures when the touchpad is captured, and report them just like mouse events. You can still request the old, detailed finger location data by explicitly requesting capture in the new “absolute” mode.

Connectivity & Cross-Device

Cross-device app handoff

A new Handoff API allows you to specify application state to be resumed on another device, such as an Android tablet. When opted in, the system synchronizes state via CompanionDeviceManager and displays a handoff suggestion in the launcher of the user’s nearby devices. This feature is designed to offer seamless task continuity, enabling users to pick up exactly where they left off in their workflow across their Android ecosystem. Critically, Handoff supports both native app-to-app transitions and app-to-web fallback, providing maximum flexibility and ensuring a complete experience even if the native app is not installed on the receiving device.

Advanced ranging APIs

We are adding support for 2 new ranging technologies – 

1. UWB DL-TDOA which enables apps to use UWB for indoor navigation. This API surface is FIRA (Fine Ranging Consortium) 4.0 DL-TDOA spec compliant and enables privacy preserving indoor navigation  (avoiding tracking of the device by the anchor).

2. Proximity Detection which enables apps to use the new ranging specification being adopted by WFA (WiFi Alliance). This technology provides improved reliability and accuracy compared to existing Wifi Aware based ranging specification.

Data plan enhancements

To optimize media quality, your app can now retrieve carrier-allocated maximum data rates for streaming applications using getStreamingAppMaxDownlinkKbps and getStreamingAppMaxUplinkKbps.

Core Functionality, Privacy & Performance

Local Network Access

Android 17 introduces the ACCESS_LOCAL_NETWORK runtime permission to protect users from unauthorized local network access. Because this falls under the existing NEARBY_DEVICES permission group, users who have already granted other NEARBY_DEVICES permissions will not be prompted again. By declaring and requesting this permission, your app can discover and connect to devices on the local area network (LAN), such as smart home devices or casting receivers. This prevents malicious apps from exploiting unrestricted local network access for covert user tracking and fingerprinting. Apps targeting Android 17 or higher will now have two paths to maintain communication with LAN devices: adopt system-mediated, privacy-preserving device pickers to skip the permission prompt, or explicitly request this new permission at runtime to maintain local network communication.

Time zone offset change broadcast

Android now provides a reliable broadcast intent, ACTION_TIMEZONE_OFFSET_CHANGED, triggered when the system’s time zone offset changes, such as during Daylight Saving Time transitions. This complements the existing broadcast intents ACTION_TIME_CHANGED and ACTION_TIMEZONE_CHANGED, which are triggered when the Unix timestamp changes and when the time zone ID changes, respectively.

NPU Management and Prioritization

Apps targeting Android 17 that need to directly access the NPU must declare FEATURE_NEURAL_PROCESSING_UNIT in their manifest to avoid being blocked from accessing the NPU. This includes apps that use the LiteRT NPU delegate, vendor-specific SDKs, as well as the deprecated NNAPI.

Core internationalization libraries have been updated to ICU 78, expanding support for new scripts, characters, and emoji blocks, and enabling direct formatting of time objects.

SMS OTP protection

Android is expanding its SMS OTP protection by automatically delaying access to SMS messages with OTP. Previously, the protection was primarily focused on the SMS Retriever format wherein the delivery of messages containing an SMS retriever hash is delayed for most apps for three hours. However, for certain apps like the default SMS app, etc and the app that corresponds to the hash are exempt from this delay. This update extends the protection to all SMS messages with OTP. For most apps, SMS messages containing an OTP will only be accessible after a delay of three hours to help prevent OTP hijacking. The SMS_RECEIVED_ACTION broadcast will be withheld and sms provider database queries will be filtered. The SMS message will be available to these apps after the delay.

Delayed access to WebOTP format SMS messages

If the app has the permission to read SMS messages but is not the intended recipient of the OTP (as determined by domain verification), the WebOTP format SMS message will only be accessible after three hours have elapsed. This change is designed to improve user security by ensuring that only apps associated with the domain mentioned in the message can programmatically read the verification code. This change applies to all apps regardless of their target API level.

Delayed access to standard SMS messages with OTP

For SMS messages containing an OTP that do not use the WebOTP or SMS Retriever formats, the OTP SMS will only be accessible after three hours for most apps. This change only applies to apps that target Android 17 (API level 37) or higher.

Certain apps such as the default SMS, assistant app, along with connected device companion apps, etc will be exempt from this delay.

All apps that rely on reading SMS messages for OTP extraction should transition to using SMS Retriever or SMS User Consent APIs to ensure continued functionality.

The Android 17 schedule

We’re going to be moving quickly from this Beta to our Platform Stability milestone, targeted for March. At this milestone, we’ll deliver final SDK/NDK APIs. From that time forward, your app can target SDK 37 and publish to Google Play to help you complete your testing and collect user feedback in the several months before the general availability of Android 17.

A year of releases

We plan for Android 17 to continue to get updates in a series of quarterly releases. The upcoming release in Q2 is the only one where we introduce planned app breaking behavior changes. We plan to have a minor SDK release in Q4 with additional APIs and features.

Get started with Android 17

You can enroll any supported Pixel device to get this and future Android Beta updates over-the-air. If you don’t have a Pixel device, you can use the 64-bit system images with the Android Emulator in Android Studio.

If you are currently in the Android Beta program, you will be offered an over-the-air update to Beta 2.

If you have Android 26Q1 Beta and would like to take the final stable release of 26Q1 and exit Beta, you need to ignore the over-the-air update to 26Q2 Beta 2 and wait for the release of 26Q1.

We’re looking for your feedback so please report issues and submit feature requests on the feedback page. The earlier we get your feedback, the more we can include in our work on the final release.

For the best development experience with Android 17, we recommend that you use the latest preview of Android Studio (Panda). Once you’re set up, here are some of the things you should do:

• Compile against the new SDK, test in CI environments, and report any issues in our tracker on the feedback page.

• Test your current app for compatibility, learn whether your app is affected by changes in Android 17, and install your app onto a device or emulator running Android 17 and extensively test it.

We’ll update the preview/beta system images and SDK regularly throughout the Android 17 release cycle. Once you’ve installed a beta build, you’ll automatically get future updates

over-the-air for all later previews and Betas.

For complete information, visit the Android 17 developer site.

Join the conversation

As we move toward Platform Stability and the general availability of Android 17 later this year, your feedback remains our most valuable asset. Whether you’re an early adopter on   the Canary channel or an app developer testing on Beta 2, consider joining our communities and filing feedback. We’re listening.

Beyond the Developer Preview

The Android 17 schedule

We’re going to be moving quickly from this Beta to our Platform Stability milestone, targeted for March. At this milestone, we’ll deliver final SDK/NDK APIs and largely final app-facing behaviors. From that time you’ll have several months before the final release to complete your testing.

A year of releases

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Hi everyone,

Thank you for making 2025 another amazing year for Google Play.

Together, we’ve built Play into something much more than a store—it’s a dynamic ecosystem powered by your creativity. This year, our focus was ensuring Play continues to be the best destination for people to discover incredible content and enjoy rewarding gaming experiences.

We’re incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made alongside you, and we’re excited to celebrate those who pushed the boundaries of what’s possible—like the winners of our Best of 2025 awards. Watch our recap video to see how we’ve made Play even more rewarding for your business, or read on for a more in-depth look back on the year.

Evolving Play to be more than a store

This year, we focused on evolving Play into a true destination for discovery where billions of people around the world can find and enjoy experiences that make life more productive and delightful.

Making Play the best destination for your games business

Just a few months ago, we shared our vision for a more unified experience that brings more fun to gaming. Today, players often jump between different platforms to discover, play, and get rewarded. Our goal is to connect these journeys to create the best experience for players and, consequently, grow your business. Our first steps include these key updates:

• A new Gamer Profile that tracks cross-game stats, streaks, and achievements, customizable with a Gen AI Avatar.

• Integrated Rewards across mobile and PC that give players access to VIP experiences like our Four Days of Fantastic Rewards at San Diego Comic-Con,  Diamond District experience on Roblox, and Play’s own treasure-hunt mini-game Diamond Valley alongside new Play Games Leagues where players can compete in their favorite games, climb leaderboards, and win Play Points rewards.

• The new Play Games Sidekick, a helpful in-game overlay that curates and organizes relevant gaming info, and provides direct access to Gemini Live for real-time AI-powered guidance in the game. We recently rolled out the open beta to developers, and we encourage you to start testing the sidekick in your games and share your feedback.

• Integrated gameplay across devices is now fully realized as Google Play Games on PC has graduated from beta to general availability, solidifying our commitment to cross-platform play and making our catalog of over 200,000 titles available across mobile and PC.

Play Games Sidekick is a new in-game overlay that gives players instant access to their rewards, offers, and achievements, driving higher engagement for your game.

To help you get the most out of this unified gaming experience, we introduced the Google Play Games Level Up program, a new way to unlock greater success for your business. For titles that meet core user experience guidelines, you can unlock a powerful suite of benefits including the ability to:

• Re-engage players on the new You tab, a new personalized destination on the Play Store that is designed to help you re-engage and retain players by showcasing content and rewards from recently played games in one dedicated space. You can utilize engagement tools in Play Console to feature your latest events, offers, and updates.

• Maximize your game’s reach with prominent boosts across the store, including featuring opportunities, Play Points boosters and quests, and enhanced visibility on editorial surfaces like the Games Home and Play Points Home.

You tab is a personalized destination designed to help you re-engage and
retain players by showcasing your latest events, offers, and updates.

Unlocking more discovery and engagement for your apps and its content

Last year, we shared our vision for a content-rich Google Play that has already delivered strong results. Year-over-year, Apps Home has seen over an 18% increase in average monthly visitors with apps seeing a 9% growth in acquisitions and double-digit growth* in app spend for those monetizing on Google Play. We introduced even more updates to elevate discovery and engagement on and off the store.

• Curated spaces, launched last year, have been a success, fostering routine engagement by delivering daily, locally relevant content (such as football highlights in Brazil, cricket in India, and comics in Japan) directly to the Apps Home. Building on this, we expanded to new categories and locations, including a new entertainment-focused space in Korea. 

Curated spaces make it easier to find and engage with local interests.

• We significantly increased timely, relevant content on Google Play through Spotlight and new topic browse pages. Spotlight, located at the top of Apps Home, offers seasonal content feeds—like Taylor Swift’s recent album launch or holiday movie guides—in a new, immersive way to connect users with current cultural moments. Concurrently, new topic browse pages were integrated across the store in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, allowing content deep dives into over 100,000 shows and movies.

Spotlight offers an immersive experience connecting users

with relevant apps during current cultural moments.

Last year, we introduced Engage SDK to help you deliver personalized content to users across surfaces and seamlessly guide them into the relevant in-app experiences. Integrating it unlocks surfaces like Collections, our immersive full-screen experience bringing content directly to the user’s home screen. This year, we rolled out updates to expand your content’s reach even further:

• Engage SDK content expanded to the Play Store this summer, enabling seamless re-engagement across Apps Home and the new You tab.

• Rolled out to more markets, including Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, and Korea. 

Supporting you throughout your app lifecycle

In addition to evolving the store, we’ve continued to build on our powerful toolset to support you at every stage, from testing and release to growth and monetization.

Helping you deliver high-quality, trusted user experiences

We launched key updates in Android Studio and Play Console to help you build more stable and compliant apps.

• Policy insights in Android Studio help you catch potential violations early by showing in-context guidance, such as policy summaries and best practices, whenever code related to a Google Play policy is detected. 

• You can now halt fully rolled-out releases to stop the distribution of problematic app versions through Play Console and the Publishing API.

• We also added new Android vitals performance metrics, including low memory kill metrics which provides device-specific insights to resolve stability problems and excessive partial wake lock metrics to help you address battery drain.

New Android vitals metrics help you resolve stability problems and address battery drain. 

Boosting your productivity and workflow

We refined the Play Console experience to make managing your app and your marketing content more efficient.

• We put your most essential insights front and center with a redesigned app dashboard and overview pages.

• To repurpose creative content across Play Console more easily, we launched an asset library that lets you upload from Google Drive, organize with tags, and crop existing visuals.

• You can now automatically translate app strings with Gemini at no cost. This feature eliminates manual translation work for new releases, making updates seamless. You remain in full control with the ability to preview translations using a built-in emulator, and can easily edit or disable the service.

Translate app strings automatically with Gemini, while maintaining full control for previewing and editing.

Maximizing your revenue with secure, frictionless payments

We introduced new features focused on driving purchases and maximizing subscription revenue globally.

• We’re improving purchase conversion globally with over 800 million users now ready to buy. We launched features that encourage users to set up payment methods early, provide AI-powered payment method recommendations, and expanded our payment library to support more local payment methods globally.

• To maximize recurring revenue from over 400 million paid subscriptions, we introduced multi-product checkout, allowing you to sell base subscriptions and add-ons under a simple, single transaction. 

• To combat churn, we began showcasing subscription benefits in more places and provided you with more flexible options like extended grace periods and account holds for declined payments, which has proven effective in reducing involuntary churn by an average of 10%*.

To help reduce voluntary churn, we’re showcasing your subscriptions benefits across Play.

Investing in our app and game community with developer programs

We’re proud to invest in programs for app and game companies around the world to help you grow and succeed on Play. 

• Google Play Apps Accelerator: We’ve opened submissions for our program that will help early-stage app companies scale their business. Selected companies from over 80 eligible countries will join a 12-week accelerator starting in March 2026, where they can learn more about creating high-quality apps, go-to-market strategies, user acquisition, and more.

Submissions are still open for our 12-week accelerator, which starts in March 2026. 
Apply by January 7, 2026 for consideration.

• Indie Games Fund (Latin America): Now in its fourth year, this fund provides support to 10 promising game studios in Latin America with funding and hands-on support from Google Play. In October, we announced the 2025 recipients.

• ChangGoo Program (South Korea): Now in its seventh year, this program works with over 100 Korean mobile app and game startups to foster their growth and expansion in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korean Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED).

• Google Play x Unity Game Developer Training Program (Indonesia): The third edition launched in April, offering a 6-month online curriculum, meetups, and mentorship for Indonesian game developers in partnership with Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy and the Indonesian Gaming Association.

• Google Play x Unity Game Developer Training Program (India): The first India cohort kicked off in November with 500 aspiring and professional game developers. The 6-month journey provides online curriculum and meetups in partnership with GDAI and the govt of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

• Google for Startups Accelerator program (India): We provided Seed to Series-A AI-powered app startups in India with insights on the latest AI advancements, mentorship, and expert guidance.

Protecting your business and our ecosystem

At the heart of all the progress we’ve made this year is a foundation of trust and security. We’re always innovating to make Play safer for everyone—so users can trust every app they download and so you can keep building a thriving business.

To offer stronger protection for your business and users, we continued to enhance the Play Integrity API and our anti-fraud systems. On average, apps using Play Integrity features see 80% lower unauthorized usage, and our efforts have safeguarded top apps using Play Billing from $2.9 billion in fraud and abuse in the last year.

• Automatically fix user issues: New Play in-app remediation prompts in Play Integrity API automatically guide users to fix common problems like network issues, outdated Google Play Services, or device integrity flags, reducing integration complexity and getting users back to a good state faster.

• Combat repeat bad actors: Device recall is a powerful new tool that lets you store and recall limited data associated with a device, even if the device is reset, helping protect your business model from repeat bad actors.

• Strengthen revenue protection: We’ve introduced stronger protections against abuse, including refining pricing arbitrage detection and enhancing protection against free trial and intro pricing abuse for subscriptions, helping your business models remain profitable.

For a full breakdown of new ways we’re keeping the ecosystem safe, check out our deep-dive blog post here.

Thank you for your partnership

This is an incredible time for Google Play. We’ve made huge strides together – your passion, creativity, and feedback throughout 2025 has made Play that much stronger. We’re grateful to work alongside the best developer community in the world, and we look forward to unlocking even greater success together in the new year.

Happy holidays!

Sam Bright

VP & GM, Google Play + Developer Ecosystem

* Source: Internal Google data

In our latest #WeArePlay stories, we meet the founders building apps and games that are making health and wellness fun and easy for everyone on Google Play. From getting heavy sleepers jumping into their mornings, to turning mental wellness into an immersive adventure game.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Jay, founder of Delightroom 

Seoul, South Korea 

With over 90 million downloads, Jay‘s app Alarmy helps heavy sleepers to get moving with smart, challenge-based alarms.

While studying computer science, Jay’s biggest challenge wasn’t debugging code, it was waking up for his morning classes. This struggle sparked an idea: what if there were an app that could help anyone get out of bed? Jay built a basic version and showcased it at a tech event, where it quickly drew attention. That prototype evolved into Alarmy, an app that uses creative missions, like solving math problems, doing squats, or snapping a photo, to get people moving so they fully wake up. Now available in over 30 languages and 170+ countries, Jay and his team are expanding beyond alarms, adding sleep tracking and wellness features to help even more people start their day right.

Ellie and Hazel, co-founders of Mind Monsters Games  

Cambridge, UK

Ellie and Hazel’s game, Betwixt, makes mental wellness more fun by using an interactive story to reduce anxiety.

While working in London’s tech scene and later writing about psychology, Ellie noticed a pattern: many people turned to video games to ease stress but struggled to engage with traditional meditation. That’s when she came up with the idea to combine the two. While curating a book on mental health, she met Hazel—a therapist, former world champion boxer, and game lover and together they created Betwixt, an interactive fantasy adventure that guides players on a journey of self-discovery. By blending storytelling with evidence-based techniques, the game helps reduce anxiety and promote well-being. Now, with three new projects in development, Ellie and Hazel strive to turn play into a mental health tool.

Kevin and Robin’s app, MapMyFitness, helps a global community of runners and cyclists map their routes and track their training.

Growing up across the Middle East, the Philippines, and Africa, Kevin developed a fascination with maps. In San Diego, while training for his second marathon, he built a simple MapMyRun website to map his routes. When other runners joined, former professional cyclist Robin reached out with a vision to also help cyclists discover and share maps. Together they founded MapMyFitness in 2007 and launched MapMyRide soon after, blending Kevin’s technical expertise and Robin’s athletic know-how. Today, the MapMy suite powers millions of walkers, runners, and riders with adaptive training plans, guided workouts, live safety tracking, and community challenges—all in support of their mission to “get everybody outside”.

Discover more #WeArePlay stories from founders across the globe.