Google releases the first beta of Android 17, it will take a continuous release plan

Google on Wednesday released the first beta of Android 17, which brings performance changes and a way to add new media and camera features. Most importantly, it’s changing how developers get new APIs and features for the latest version.

With this release, the company is abandoning developer betas and adopting a continuous Canary approach to push developer updates. This is similar to how Google approaches browser development, as Google has a The Canary version of the Chrome browsertoo.

The company said that thanks to this process, features and APIs are available to developers as soon as they are approved for internal testing. In addition, the Canary method allows for on-the-fly updates, benefiting developers with integrated services and better ways to test their software.

Google said it is targeting March to launch the platform, with the release of Android 17 in Q2 2026. With the release of Android 16 last year, Google adopted double release system in a calendar year, with a major SDK release in the first half and a minor SDK release in the second half of the year. The company did this to give time to device manufacturers to release the latest version of the device and reduce the fragmentation of the Android ecosystem.

Android 17 will prevent developers from getting out of development restrictions. This means that developers cannot force the view or change the size of the main device window. This is Google’s way of making many apps work better on tablets with different curves and screen sizes.

Google is also adding camera capabilities to Android 17. It’s adding APIs to allow developers to better configure cameras, support for VVC (H.266) video codecs, better sound control across apps to keep the volume constant, and stronger controls for background audio.

Android 17 also brings performance improvements, fewer missing frames, and a better garbage collection system for memory cleaning. The company is improving Wi-Fi connections by detecting proximity and finding secure peers, too.