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The first Android 17 beta is now available on Pixel devices

February 14, 2026
•Ars technica
The first Android 17 beta is now available on Pixel devices

Here's something that caught my attention — Android 17’s beta just dropped on Pixel devices, but it’s not what you might expect. Initially, there was a hiccup when Google briefly canceled the rollout, only to quickly confirm it was back on track. Ryan Whitwam from TechCrunch notes that this first beta isn't packed with flashy features; instead, it’s mainly for testing system and API tweaks. The big highlight? Expanded support for adaptive apps. That means apps will now be required to resize and support multi-window modes, making them more usable on tablets and foldables. According to Whitwam, this is a shift from last year’s Android 16, where developers could opt out. Now, Google’s pushing harder — if your app targets Android 17, it has to support resizing, or it risks getting filtered out from the Play Store. So, what does this all mean? Android is really doubling down on flexible, multi-device experiences — and we’ll see more of these changes unfold in the months ahead.

You might have noticed some reporting a few days ago that Android 17 was rolling out in beta form, but that didn't happen. For reasons Google still has not explained, the release was canceled. Two days later, Android 17 is here for real. If you've got a recent Pixel device, you can try the latest version today, but don't expect big changes just yet—there's still a long way to go before release.

Google will probably have more to say about feature changes for Android 17 in the coming months, but this first wide release is aimed mostly at testing system and API changes. One of the biggest changes in the beta is expanded support for adaptive apps, which ensures that apps can scale to different screen sizes. That makes apps more usable on large-screen devices like tablets and foldables with multiple displays.

We first saw this last year in Android 16, but developers were permitted to opt out of support. The new adaptive app roadmap puts an end to that. Any app that targets Android 17 (API level 37) must support resizing and windowed multitasking. Apps can continue to target the older API for the time being, but Google filters apps from the Play Store if they don't keep up.

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Audio Transcript

You might have noticed some reporting a few days ago that Android 17 was rolling out in beta form, but that didn't happen. For reasons Google still has not explained, the release was canceled. Two days later, Android 17 is here for real. If you've got a recent Pixel device, you can try the latest version today, but don't expect big changes just yet—there's still a long way to go before release.

Google will probably have more to say about feature changes for Android 17 in the coming months, but this first wide release is aimed mostly at testing system and API changes. One of the biggest changes in the beta is expanded support for adaptive apps, which ensures that apps can scale to different screen sizes. That makes apps more usable on large-screen devices like tablets and foldables with multiple displays.

We first saw this last year in Android 16, but developers were permitted to opt out of support. The new adaptive app roadmap puts an end to that. Any app that targets Android 17 (API level 37) must support resizing and windowed multitasking. Apps can continue to target the older API for the time being, but Google filters apps from the Play Store if they don't keep up.

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