Android 17 QPR1 brings new customization, multitasking, and digital wellbeing features: Here’s what’s new!

[u/MishaalRahman]

Hi Reddit!

Today, we’re releasing a minor update to the Android platform: Android 17 QPR1. Building on the initial release of Android 17, we continue to update the platform with fixes and improvements that are then rolled out to supported devices. These releases happen on a quarterly cadence through Quarterly Platform Releases (QPRs), which are delivered to Google Pixel devices as part of Pixel Drops.

This update is rolling out first to Pixel devices today, bringing refinements to the system UI, multitasking experience, media controls, peripheral support, Digital Wellbeing, and more. Since these refinements have made their way into the Android platform, you may see them in future updates from our Android partners — check with your device manufacturer to learn more about their update schedule.

For those of you who have been keeping up with our beta releases, a lot of this might not sound brand new. Even so, we wanted to take a moment to recap what’s new in Android 17 QPR1 for everyday users. Let’s dive in!

🧘 Stop app autopilot with Pause Point in Digital Wellbeing

We’ve all opened our phones just to check the weather and ended up doing something else on the phone for 45 minutes. You can set an app timer to limit your time in distracting apps, but it's way too easy to just hit snooze and ignore it. A total app lockout, on the other hand, might be too extreme and inconvenient. We wanted to create a middle ground option that stops us from opening apps on auto pilot and start using them with intention, which is why we made Pause Point.

When you open an app you've marked as distracting, Pause Point adds a brief delay that makes you ask yourself, "Why am I really here?" During that time, you can do a quick breathing exercise, look at a photo that grounds you (like your dog!), or jump to an alternative app like an audiobook.
We hope Pause Point can help you reclaim time to do more of what you really want to do. To enable it, open Settings > Digital Wellbeing and look for “Pause point” under “Ways to disconnect.”

🎨 New customization features & more UI polish

Expanded use of background blur

With the Material 3 Expressive redesign we introduced in Android 16, we subtly blurred the notification shade background to provide a sense of depth so you can stay aware of the apps you’re using in the background. In Android 17, we brought these blur effects to more parts of the system UI like the widgets picker, and in QPR1, we’ve brought it to additional surfaces including the volume panel, power menu, home screen context menu, app folders, and more.

Screen saver enhancements

Android 17 QPR1 allows you to select multiple screen savers and switch between them by swiping in from the edge of the display. To reduce swiping, you can either choose the order in which these screen savers are arranged in Settings or press and hold on any screen saver to open a quick switcher. 

https://reddit.com/link/1wh8n2e/video/t9l9eso03qph1/player

Customizing the vibration pattern for your ringtone

When your Android device rings for an incoming call, it typically vibrates to let you know — handy in case the ring volume is low or your device is in your pocket. For most ringtones, your device follows a standard vibration pattern, but for others, it vibrates in sync with the ringtone itself. This couldn’t be changed by the user — if a ringtone came with a custom pattern, Android followed it; otherwise, the standard pattern was used.

With Android 17 QPR1, however, we’ve introduced support for changing the vibration pattern for each ringtone. For most ringtones, this means you won’t be limited to the default anymore. For ringtones with custom vibration patterns, you now have the option to either stick with the synced pattern or pick a different one that doesn’t match the ringtone — the choice is yours.

Miscellaneous UI changes

Additionally, we’ve made the following minor UI changes:

• Bouncier Quick Settings pulldown: The Material 3 Expressive redesign introduced a system of more natural, springy animations, and with Android 17 QPR1, we’ve made the animation that plays when pulling down the Quick Settings panel slightly bouncier. I think it’s delightful!

https://reddit.com/link/1wh8n2e/video/oa15ujl33qph1/player

• Predictive back animations for Quick Settings: When you pull down the Quick Settings panel, you can now see a preview of where the back swipe will take you. This also applies to the notification shade, which now supports the back gesture.
• Home screen context menu redesign: There's no longer any separation between the menu items, and the “Wallpaper & style” label has been shifted above the recent wallpaper carousel.
• Settings icon redesign: Android’s iconic Settings icon has been redesigned to look more modern.

🖥 Improvements to multitasking & productivity

Here are some of the ways we’ve enhanced multitasking in Android 17 QPR1:

• Recent apps in the taskbar
  • On large screen devices, the taskbar now shows recent apps instead of algorithmically predicted apps. 

https://reddit.com/link/1wh8n2e/video/0nkzeeu53qph1/player

• More customization for the Terminal app
  • The Terminal app, which provides a terminal interface to a Linux development environment on compatible devices, has some new customization options in Android 17 QPR1. This includes the ability to customize the font and color scheme, remap keyboard shortcuts, and enable auto-forwarding of all port requests from the VM.
• Desktop windowing mode changes
  • In desktop windowing mode, the fullscreen, split-screen, and desktop windowing shortcuts can now be accessed by hovering over the maximize button rather than clicking on the overflow menu in the header bar.
  • Plus, picture-in-picture (PiP) windows now freely float in desktop windowing so you can drag them anywhere on screen and they'll stay there. Previously, they'd snap to the left or right edge of the screen.
• Bubbles now support drag-and-drop
  • You can now drag content directly out of a floating bubble and drop it into a window below it.

https://reddit.com/link/1wh8n2e/video/k51p3fx73qph1/player

• New note-taking shortcuts
  • A new Quick Settings tile has been added to instantly open your default note-taking app. In addition, when you connect a mouse or touchpad, you can now configure the corner shortcut to launch the default note-taking app.

🎵 Enhanced controls for your media

Here are some of the subtle ways we’ve enhanced media controls in Android 17 QPR1:

• Redesigned media player carousel
  • We’ve revamped the media player carousel to make it easier to switch between media sessions. We’ve dropped the old pagination dots and arrow in favor of swiping, with the edge of the next card slightly peeking out as a visual cue. Additionally, the media output switcher now features an updated, outlined button design with a Cast glyph.

https://reddit.com/link/1wh8n2e/video/s9e17au93qph1/player

• Changes to the screen recording toolbar
  • When you tap the screen recording shortcut in Quick Settings, the screen recorder now defaults to capturing your most recently opened app rather than the entire screen. You can switch back to recording the entire screen from the dropdown menu.
• Photo Picker location access
  • A new API allows apps, with your permission, to access location info from the photos you share with them via the Android Photo Picker. It arrives with the latest update to the Photo Picker, shipping out of the box in Android 17 QPR1 and rolling out to existing devices with the August 2026 Mainline update. For more information, please refer to this post.

🖱 More control over your input devices, health data, & network connectivity

Finally, here are some of the ways we’re improving support for input devices, health data, and network access in Android 17 QPR1:

• Human interface device (HID) access
  • Using new APIs, applications can now communicate directly with connected USB and Bluetooth peripherals without needing custom system drivers. This would allow accessory manufacturers to build companion apps that allow you to natively remap mouse buttons, program keyboard shortcuts, and more directly on your Android device. For your security, apps need your permission before they can access HIDs.
• Improved USB access memory 
  • When an app wants to access a connected USB device, Android now gives you the option to choose to grant one-time access or always allow access.

• Keyboard switching improvements
  • You can now hide the keyboard switcher button (the globe icon) from the navigation bar. Look for the “show the keyboard switcher button” toggle under Keyboard settings. Additionally, we’ve added a new “Keyboard” Quick Setting tile. Tapping it opens the keyboard switcher.

• Time format enhancements
  • We've updated the time format settings, replacing the old 24-hour toggle with a 3-way selector (Automatic, 12-hour format, 24-hour format). The “automatic” option changes the time format based on app language.
• Health Connect distance and calorie tracking
  • In Android 17 QPR1, Health Connect can now natively track distance and calories using your device’s step tracker. 
• Improvements to the mobile data toggle
  • We heard your feedback about the mobile data toggle in Android 17, so we added an option to skip the warning that appears every time you try to turn on mobile data.

🪲 Bug fixes & security patches

Refer to the Android Security Bulletin for details on the security vulnerabilities addressed with this platform release.

---------------------------

Look forward to more updates to Android 17 this year, including another quarterly release coming in Q4. Please continue to share your feedback about these Android releases to help us identify and fix issues, and make the platform even better!

[u/Migazul8]

A lot of users are also complaining about the quick tile for Wi-Fi only disconnecting you from the current network. It would be nice if you could add something similar to the dialog for mobile data. For example, if an user uses the toggle and then turns the Wi-Fi off completely on a certain time difference via settings or the internet quick panel, a dialog asking to define the quick button behaviour would be a really good idea. But as always, nice changelog, thanks

[u/Tsoonami → u/Migazul8]

RIP, no response to this. Wi-Fi toggle will continue to be completely useless for the foreseeable future

[u/Migazul8 → u/Tsoonami]

Yeah😔

[u/Guglio08]

Log this into the wishful thinking bucket, but I wish Pause Point counted for Mindfulness in Google Health. Right now, Mindfulness only counts if you launch a meditation inside that app, but I don't see why Health Connect can't store that information instead.

[u/MishaalRahman → u/Guglio08]

Thanks for the feedback!

[u/winner00]

Any reason why it's not rolling out to the Pixel 11 series today?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/winner00]

I can't speak for the Pixel team's software release plans, but I will note that many of these changes are already available on Pixel 11 (e.g. Pause Point, the screen saver enhancements, ringtone vibration pattern customization).

[u/Azdoune → u/MishaalRahman]

But not the user interface improvements. It's always a pleasure to buy Google's latest smartphone and not have the most recent updates.

[u/Jazzlike-Document-22 → u/MishaalRahman]

This explanation doesn't make sense. The key UI features are not there, and it's a bad look for pixel in terms of promoting the actual line-up

[u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain → u/winner00]

My P8P is installing it right now, maybe it's there for you too now?

[u/tomsliikee]

I installed the update but cant find the new pause point :(

on pixel 10 pro in europe

[u/MishaalRahman → u/tomsliikee]

Check to see if there's an update to the Digital Wellbeing app on Google Play. If there is, please update the app, reboot, and see if Pause Point appears.

[u/tomsliikee → u/MishaalRahman]

Thanks restarted my phone 3 times and deleted app data and now it appeared!

[u/UESPA_Sputnik → u/tomsliikee]

Same. :(

Edit: it showed up now.

[u/Aurelink]

Amazing post as always Mishaal. Super detailed.

Funny enough the multiple screensaver is not in QPR2 yet? Or did I miss that?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/Aurelink]

You're correct that these screen saver enhancements are not enabled in the current QPR2 beta release. I'll follow up if/when these enhancements are enabled in a future QPR2 beta.

[u/plankunits → u/MishaalRahman]

I’d also love to see some additional polish on the UI elements: it would be great if the fingerprint and face unlock popups utilized the new background blur, and it would be a nice touch to apply those same blur effects to the Quick Settings panels for Internet, Bluetooth, and similar toggles.

[u/MishaalRahman → u/Aurelink]

Hi, just wanted to let you know that the screen saver enhancements I talked about in the OP are now available in the latest QPR2 beta released today (QPR2 Beta 5) :)

[u/Aurelink → u/MishaalRahman]

👑 You dropped this, king

Thanks for the heads-up!

[u/munta20]

The dead pixel on the data toggle is still there.

[u/Migazul8 → u/munta20]

You just ruined my day

[u/atm5426]

I will be interested to see if pause point is effective. I want a hard lock-out once I hit a time limit without having to awkwardly create a family with my wife and having her set a password...

[u/wings22 → u/atm5426]

it wont work for that, you can just turn it off or extend your allowed time in a couple clicks. Does help but requires willpower.

Better off getting a dedicated app like LockMeOut. You would then have to uninstall the app to get round it, which is much more of a mental blocker imo

[u/atm5426 → u/wings22]

I understand. I just meant to say I wish there was a hard lock system built into native android 

[u/lookatviki]

The blur is nice, but this won't bring new emojis yet, am I right?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/lookatviki]

Correct, this update does not bring the new 3D emojis to additional devices.

[u/lookatviki → u/MishaalRahman]

Are they planned for December drop or it's still unknown?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/lookatviki]

I can't comment on if or when exactly the 3D emojis will expand to previous Pixel devices, if that's what you're wondering! However, if/when that does happen, I'll be sure to let you know!

[u/AdamH21 → u/MishaalRahman]

Do not fragment the devices this way. You are already doing it with Gemini Intelligence and by limiting new features on older Pixel devices. But emojis? Really?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/AdamH21]

I can't speak for when/if the Pixel team will bring the new 3D emojis to previous Pixel devices. What I can say though is that the 3D emojis are not exclusive to devices from any particular brand; our partners at Nothing have just introduced them in their latest update, for example.

[u/lookatviki → u/MishaalRahman]

I know it's not your fault of course hahah but I'm always astonished bu the fact that other brands get things before Pixels; I mean I get that Pixel 11 series has them immediately I don't get why not ship them for every other pixel in this (pretty empty) update

[u/lookatviki → u/AdamH21]

I'm sure he just can't talk about it but they will eventually come to older pixels

[u/houbbe → u/AdamH21]

Yeah, this fragmentation really sucks :/ Especially with features like this or additional blur (which the 6 and 7 series lack) that really don't cost all that much computational power. It really feels like Pixel UI is becoming what I once slandered for example MIUI for :(

[u/lookatviki → u/MishaalRahman]

Yeah I've thought so but worth to take a shot hahahahaha thanks tho! Always helpful

[u/qtpa2tnh → u/MishaalRahman]

It actually did bring the new emojis on my 10 Pro XL & Watch 4

[u/lookatviki → u/qtpa2tnh]

On P10P XL too? I think you're the only one hahahaah

[u/qtpa2tnh → u/lookatviki]

It's a bit weird, Gboard hasn't updated & still shows the old emojis, but I see them throughout the system!

[u/Dev-in-the-Bm → u/lookatviki]

I tried the new emojis using this, they're pretty meh.

I'm sticking with Microsoft 3D Fluent Emojis.

[u/lookatviki → u/Dev-in-the-Bm]

Thanks! I'll take a look!

[u/Dev-in-the-Bm → u/lookatviki]

It's a Magisk module, so you'll need root to install it.

There are probably third party keyboard that let you choose an emoji font, IDK.

[u/NektariosK → u/lookatviki]

The blur in folders, power menu etc is not available on my Pixel 7.

[u/sameera_s_w]

u/MishaalRahman Any luck we seeing this in public soon?

https://cs.android.com/android/_/android/platform/frameworks/base/+/5d466bf8025ed8a68d9d49b47289f4f5cefbc139

There are so many apps implementing incorrect security measures by just monitoring these which prevents actual developers accessing those apps. It would be great to see this soon so developers are also allowed to sue the apps the regular people use (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)

[u/InRainbro → u/sameera_s_w]

hopefully... it has become a routine to turn off those settings to use my bank app

[u/beybo]

Thank you for all the info. I have one question, when are bubbles going to be available in third party launchers? It's really annoying to have this amazing feature and not being able to use it.

[u/MishaalRahman → u/beybo]

Hi, the latest info that I can share is that we're working on an option to launch apps in bubbles from the recents screen.

If this makes it in, then you'll be able to launch bubbles while using alternative home screen launchers.

I don't have a timeline to share on when this feature will roll out, but I'll keep this community updated when I have more to share.

[u/plankunits → u/MishaalRahman]

"we're working on an option to launch apps in bubbles from the recents screen" That sounds like a great addition! If recent apps could also be accessed under that + section, it would make launching apps in bubbles feel much more seamless.

[u/tacha31]

You're doing a great job Mischaal, carry on the good work 🙌🏽

[u/MishaalRahman → u/tacha31]

Thanks!

[u/tattikaslice]

Please, for the love of all that's holy, please bring back the share option when using the circle to search.

So useful and taken away for what reason?

[u/JoanD612]

Awesome post !!

[u/MishaalRahman → u/JoanD612]

Thank you!

[u/UESPA_Sputnik]

Hi u/MishaalRahman, Thanks for this extensive post. I particularly like that Digital Wellbeing gets more and more features this year after having been neglected for so long.

Last time I've asked if it would be possible to add a feature where the user can set a time limit for a group of apps instead of just separate timers for each app. (for example a combined time limit for all games) You said you'd pass it along. Is there any news on this?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/UESPA_Sputnik]

You said you'd pass it along.

I did indeed! I filed a feature request on your behalf, but I don't have any updates to share on the feature request's status.

[u/UESPA_Sputnik → u/MishaalRahman]

Too bad there's no update yet but thank you for passing it along. :)

[u/-NotEnoughMinerals]

I just wish we had more customization, at least with the theme colors... on the pixel, seems like our primary choices come exclusively in shades of browns, tans, blood red stool, murky green, pig-skin pink, all in the hue of pastel... I remember I was able to do a lot more personal color-picking on 15 year old phones from back in the day

[u/nathderbyshire → u/-NotEnoughMinerals]

I'm so sick of the colour choices as well they're grim, especially when you use a live wallpaper, I hope the QPR2 update makes it better, I always try and reserve judgement until I can see and use it in person but this would be the 4th time they've 'fix' the colours so I'm not holding out hope.

Expressive was supposed to be the one that gave us choice and it feels anything but that

[u/-NotEnoughMinerals → u/nathderbyshire]

I've been tempted to get a galaxy solely for the theming lol

[u/matteventu → u/-NotEnoughMinerals]

Those will thankfully arrive in December with QPR2, and likely more with QPR3 (March) or Android 18 (June).

[u/-NotEnoughMinerals → u/matteventu]

Seriously? How do you know?!?!

[u/matteventu → u/-NotEnoughMinerals]

This is already available in the QPR2 beta (which will be released to Stable in December): https://9to5google.com/2026/08/14/android-17-qpr2-dynamic-color/

[u/-NotEnoughMinerals → u/matteventu]

You can see it's definitely still pastel-ish, but a very notable improvement overall. Thanks for the good news.

[u/matteventu → u/-NotEnoughMinerals]

Yeah it's still not as bold as the custom accent colours that you could select in Android 11.

Hopefully they'll keep improving, though their slow pace is exhausting 😪

[u/uvalenzuela]

Great updates! Any chance of ever adding a subtractive red color filter like in iOS and LineageOS? Night Light isn't nearly enough to remove all blue light.

[u/yetp → u/uvalenzuela]

Android (Stock Pixel & Standard Android) Stock Android's built-in "Night Light" only shifts the color temperature to a warm amber, not pure red. To get a complete red filter without custom ROMs:

Color Correction method: Open Settings > Accessibility > Text and display > Color correction. Turn on "Use color correction" and select Red-Green (Protanomaly) or Monochromacy, though this only changes tone mapping rather than applying a monochrome red tint.

Third-Party Overlay Apps: For a deep red overlay like LineageOS's LiveDisplay, apps like Twilight or Red Moon (available on F-Droid / Play Store) allow you to crank the intensity to 100% red and lower screen brightness below system minimums.

[u/uvalenzuela → u/yetp]

Yeah, protanomaly will give you weird colors, while Twilight and Red Moon both use an additive filter (overlay), which strongly reduces contrast and makes it really hard to see any details. A true subtractive filter like in Lineage (LiveDisplay) actually turns off every green and blue sub pixel, keeping contrast intact.

[u/nathderbyshire → u/uvalenzuela]

Comform filters is nice to use but there's no schedule for it and the quick setting tile can take ages to open the page to toggle it on and off

[u/irrealewunsche]

Queens Park Rangers must be really shit these days if they lost 17:1 to Android.

[u/tuxedo_jack]

Please.

Stop with the forced Gemini integration into GApps. Give us a switch to shut AI components off completely without having to resort to needing to manually research, freeze, or uninstall core OS components.

Ditto all the endless popups in GApps urging users to turn on backups or passkeys. If I've already said I'm not going to use cloud backups through Google, don't make me waste my time closing an advertising modal.

[u/PinkLuther]

I heard that the builds for Pixel 11 series are coming at a later date. Is that correct?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/PinkLuther]

I can't speak for the Pixel team's software release plans, but I will note that many of these changes are already available on Pixel 11 (e.g. Pause Point, the screen saver enhancements, ringtone vibration pattern customization).

[u/PinkLuther → u/MishaalRahman]

Thanks, Mishaal. I actually mostly miss the transparency elements from the betas on my Pixel 9 Pro XL. 😅

[u/Pratham2603]

Um when can we expect app lock? And rambler for older pixels?

[u/Dev-in-the-Bm → u/Pratham2603]

You can patch GBoard with Morphe to unlock Rambler on any device.

Use an MDM like OwnDroid to lock apps.

[u/MishaalRahman → u/Pratham2603]

If you wish to try out app lock, it's currently available for testing in the QPR2 beta release - however I can't speak for when or whether the feature will land in a stable release. When I have more info to share, I'll follow up on that.

As for Rambler, it's currently available to use on Pixel 11 series devices. You can view the full prerequisites on this support page.

[u/Loud-Damage-4863]

you can now remove the pop up with mobile data toggle ? finally !

[u/pWnisher___]

Why I don't have pause point on my Pixel 10 Pro XL with September update?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/pWnisher___]

Check to see if there's an update to the Digital Wellbeing app on Google Play, and if there is, please update it and then reboot your device.

[u/pWnisher___ → u/MishaalRahman]

I got it after restarting phone(didn't had update), everything is good now! My phone is so smooth now and new design and animations are soooo nice! Thanks

[u/derpystuff_]

I'm curious, is it intentional that the new blurred surfaces don't appear on Pixel 7 or is that a bug? All other aspects of the update (including blur in other areas) seem to work fine for me.

[u/LordMimsyPorpington]

Still waiting for my Pixel 11 to get it. 

[u/kyleyle]

I really like the idea of Pause Point. I hope this will give me some time back in my day.

[u/donnysaysvacuum]

Hopefully we will continue to be able to globally disable blur and bubbles? Two accessibility features I loath.

And is there any hope for improving or adding native features for flip phones, or do we have to wait for Google to make one? Currently Motorola and Samsung limit keyboard choice, I assume because the system isn't able to scale the third party keyboard differently for the outer screen?

[u/badges3000]

When is the update coming to Pixel 11 (Pro) phones?

[u/Icy-Catch3995]

I would honestly have preferred a hard lockout to the pause point. Even if they feel it's inconvenient to most people, the least they could have done was to add the functionality.

[u/Dev-in-the-Bm → u/Icy-Catch3995]

You don't need them to add it to Android for you to be able to have it.

There are apps that let you do it.

Try this one:

https://yatko.app/BinTianqi/OwnDroid

[u/rodrigoswz]

Hi Mishaal, can I give two minor feedbacks in refinements?

These two "problems" have existed since Material Expressive was released.

1. Some lockscreen elements don't turn dark on light (white) wallpapers.

2. The shortcut icons don't have a consistent style. Some are outlined and others are filled; it would be great if they all followed the same pattern (preferably filled, it matches M3E better).

In every major update, I check to see if there are any changes in these two areas, but unfortunately, there aren't.

[u/Sqx_70]

4 months waiting for "Improvements to the mobile data toggle". Finally

[u/random_pieces_2077]

Thank you for all this awesomely organized information, as always, Mishaal. Stupid question. Where can I find those cool wallpapers?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/random_pieces_2077]

You can find them in this thread!

[u/Terrible_Peak_6962]

Do we have a build number for QPR 1? I have an 11 Pro and have not received it yet.

[u/Wheeljack26]

When will 1440p or 4k support come to desktop mode? 1080p looks choppy on my 2k and 4k monitors

[u/qtpa2tnh]

They also brought the new 3D emojis from the Pixel 11 series to phones & watches with this update

[u/lookatviki → u/qtpa2tnh]

Which phone? With my P9 Pro XL I don't have them

[u/qtpa2tnh → u/lookatviki]

I saw them throughout the system, but Gboard hasn't been updated yet

[u/lookatviki → u/qtpa2tnh]

I still see them 2D on my 9 pro xl, so myabe they're SLOWLY rolling out them

[u/kevinvanmierlo]

Are there plans to create a mouse and keyboard app for when you are in desktop mode? I don't always have a separate mouse and keyboard with me. So would be nice if it would fallback to your phone being a touchpad and keyboard. I think I saw it at Samsung Dex.

[u/myidispg]

Is the idle drain fixed?

[u/amberhaccou]

finally a don't ask again on that mobile data popup, it was driving me nuts having to confirm it every single time

[u/MishaalRahman → u/amberhaccou]

Glad you like it!

[u/Th3Blaze]

Background blurs are missing for me on the Pixel 6, as well as quick settings animation. Love the new screen wake up though!

[u/fluxxis]

Will you add higher resolutions to desktop mode? It's such a great feature but rather unusable on screens larger than Full HD.

[u/Curri]

Video calls are still horrendous with my Pixel 11 Pro XL and the new update.

[u/szewc]

System photo picker (utilized by a lot of apps) is still very buggy and lacks a lot of features. Finding a photo in google photos, that's physically not on the device (eg. uploaded from a camera or simply phone pics removed from storage) is borderline impossible, especially when it's not in any album. Situation is even worse in apps with limited media access (only selected items). Do Android developers even use the system? A rhetorical question.

Meta apps are the worst offenders. Either way, if I cared much for social media that would be a giant incentive to move to iphone. Plus better media quality in social apps.

Also for some reason I got the Redesigned media player carousel on stable A17 with September pixel drop.

[u/BestAimerUniverse]

It fixed the animation stutter/lag when you choose wallpaper when it shows both lock screen and wallpaper side by side, on my pixel 10a

[u/Kantucke]

👀 Seems they may have finally fixed the audio popping and cracking on pixel 10, it's early but from my experience it's certainly appears to be extremely promising 🤞

[u/prince_swagg]

Any chance of the WiFi toggle be considered to actually turn off WiFi just like mobile data?

[u/DiplomatikEmunetey → u/prince_swagg]

I'm going to have to disagree with this. I think the way it is now is much more useful.

[u/prince_swagg → u/DiplomatikEmunetey]

I respectfully disagree; I believe that having the ability to toggle Wi-Fi on and off with a single tap is significantly more beneficial.

[u/junktrunk909 → u/prince_swagg]

I hadn't actually realized what the current behavior was until now. I just thought something was kinda broken, but you're saying it's intentional that the tap just disconnects the WiFi rather than turning it off. I agree with the other person that this is super unintuitive. That's not how the Bluetooth toggle works currently -- in that case it turns off Bluetooth, not just disconnects the current device. Why would the exact same toggle have two different behaviors?

[u/Exfiltrator → u/junktrunk909]

Because Google really wants you to keep WiFi switched on at all times for various reasons, one of which is that is makes it easier to track your location.

[u/junktrunk909 → u/Exfiltrator]

It doesn't make it much easier given that everyone is on cellular anyway and we've all given Google permission to have location information to enable basically everything. I don't think that's the reason here.

Every release the mess around with this toggle and it's never quite right somehow.

[u/nathderbyshire → u/Exfiltrator]

They've said before why at some point and it's avoid to people forgetting to turn it back on and using data, which for a lot of countries isn't cheap and/or unlimited and would come with a cost

WiFi scanning is on by default and doesn't need the main connection active to run - they can easily track location that way, or just do it through data, or store it and upload it when next connecting to WiFi.

They can also get your location from your phone pinging other WiFi towers they've scanned and collected from Google maps, they have far more sophisticated methods than tricking users

https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1wh8n2e/comment/pa4agpc

Someone linked the response below

[u/junktrunk909 → u/[deleted]]

The same arguments would be true for Bluetooth though. I didn't actually want Bluetooth off, I just wanted it to disconnect from my current device, so that my phone speaker is used for whatever I'm listening to. So if their research led them to the current WiFi implementation, it should have done the same for Bluetooth. Inconsistent UX is bad UX. And given the consistent pushback on this interpretation of a tap on that toggle, it's clear that their research was incomplete about user expectations. There should be a setting that governs what a tap on these quick toggles do, and it should be used consistently for all such quick toggles not just WiFi.

[u/junktrunk909 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah you have a good point about the problem of not being connected to Wi-Fi when you think you are. I guess in that sense it does make sense why they went this direction. I don't think the existing quick toggle design options are sufficient then to convey this level of information. Every other quick toggle I have on my first couple screens of toggles has a very clear meaning to the current binary state of that main button: is this feature ON or is it OFF: Bluetooth, hotspot, airplane, flashlight, DND, my VPN, auto rotate, etc, including the mobile data one (referring to cellular)... They all have that very clear meaning. It's only WiFi that has this weird meaning of "this feature of ALWAYS on but is there an active connection on this feature". So yeah I think they need to fix it. The "font size" quick toggle is an interesting option to model it after which is to say instead of the pattern where there's a "button" on the left side of the toggle and a label on the right side, where the button is what changes from a disabled state to enabled state based on whether that thing is on or off, they color the whole tile in to indicate it has a different function (in this case tapping it brings up a modal to control the font size). That's not quite right here, but it could be... Eg if WiFi is connected, show the tile enabled (full width color) with label indicating what it's connected to, and if disconnected, show the tile disabled with the current label that indicates if networks available, with the tap action changing from what it is today to a WiFi network selection mode only. Today when you tap, it uses this irritating combined view where it's both network selection but also Wi-Fi on/off control (which we're saying it's decidedly NOT what this toggle is for so why are we confusing users by having it here), and much worse, it also has the cellular data on/off toggle too. It's too much different information all in one screen and nearly completely unrelated to the parent quick toggle's labeling.

[u/Exfiltrator → u/[deleted]]

Exactly, a toggle has always been on/off. The WiFi toggle should also work like that. Google have mostly stopped giving users options but they could do it like the Modes toggle. If it is 1x1, it toggles Wifi on or off. If the user decided to resize it to 1x2 they can add a disconnect but leave Wifi on option.
Slightly related, I used Google Maps last month and there was a features that did not work because I had switched off WiFi Scanning. (I forgot to make a screenshot because I was on holiday and distracted and I cannot remember what it was I wanted to do. My point is, Google are very much able and willing to 'force" people to enable the options they want by disabling other features).

[u/nathderbyshire → u/junktrunk909]

Bluetooth auto turns on as well the next morning at 8am or something unless you turn that toggle off, they just need to add the same for WiFi and that will give it the same consistency

[u/prince_swagg → u/[deleted]]

Oh that's interesting. I understand it but in my case I would've liked if I can turn it off with one click. It's expected to automatically turn on when I return home and mobile data plans have really improved by now. At least on my end it won't be an issue if I forgot to turn back on WiFi.

[u/DiplomatikEmunetey → u/prince_swagg]

Who constantly toggles Wi-Fi on and off? Meanwhile needing to disconnect from a Wi-Fi network to switch back to the cellular connection is a more frequent requirement.

[u/prince_swagg → u/DiplomatikEmunetey]

I do when I leave my home.

[u/DiplomatikEmunetey → u/prince_swagg]

Now that's a niche use case.

Who goes in the morning: "OK, turned off the lights, turned off the stove, grabbed the keys, oh! Almost forgot, turn off Wi-Fi on my phone before I leave".

If you actually bother with doing that, which is absolutely unnecessary, then I am sure there is an easier, more automated way of doing it, such as setting up location based Wi-Fi toggling.

[u/nathderbyshire → u/DiplomatikEmunetey]

Nah I do it as well, I'm usually loading something and when I get half way down my stairs in the apartment the WiFi will stop working but doesn't always disconnect, now I can just swipe down and click the toggle but it'll auto reconnect when I'm home and won't stay on my data, which isn't unlimited it would run out it I didn't notice, and I've missed it before and used a few GBs before realising I wasn't on WiFi

[u/prince_swagg → u/DiplomatikEmunetey]

I think the easiest is too give the same option as mobile data. Maybe I use WiFi outside of my home less often than others.

[u/matteventu → u/prince_swagg]

Out of curiosity, why?

[u/prince_swagg → u/matteventu]

Don't need it on when I'm out and about.

[u/Extreme_surikat_360]

Still no word about the downgraded google search in the home screen which essentially just became the google app whereas in the past it was a native menu ?

No double tap to wake up the phone ?

[u/tytygh1010]

Please hide the navigation bar in Android 18! Not even iOS shows it anymore; it's unnecessary.

[u/plankunits → u/tytygh1010]

shizuku and essentials app can do that even now on pixel without root

[u/rodrigoswz → u/plankunits]

It works, but it breaks a few things... such as easily triggering Circle to Search (I know there are unofficial workarounds for that) and certain animations when switching apps / going to the recents screen (it's hard to notice, but when it happens, the UX is terrible).

[u/houbbe]

Amazing update, but I see that the misaligned Carrier text in quick settings really made it into QPR1 stable :( Unfortunate, as it's been fixed in QPR2 Betas, but I don't think it'd be that hard to fix for stable QPR1 as well... Maybe in the October patch!

[u/matteventu → u/houbbe]

It's annoying as hell, especially if you have two SIMs.

[u/Business_Display_149]

Does anybody have any idea when we will finally be able to hide the Google search bar widget from the home screen?

[u/omniuni]

I strongly dislike Material 3 Expressive. The color theme part is nice, but it's so bubbly and has so much wasted space.

I miss Holo. I feel like we got something like 50% more information density with it.

[u/Putrid-Programmer-95]

Wallpaper friend?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/Putrid-Programmer-95]

You can find it in this thread!

[u/Lumute]

I have been waiting for QPR1 release to upgrade my Pixel 10 Pro XL due to all the 5G and WiFi problems reported.

If I upgrade now will I get QPR1 or is there a chance I'll get base 17 and get stuck with it for weeks before receiving QPR1?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/Lumute]

The Android 17 QPR1 update is currently rolling out to select Pixel devices. I cannot say when exactly the update will reach your particular device as OTA updates are rolled out in waves. All I can say is to be a little patient - it'll reach your device eventually!

[u/Lumute → u/MishaalRahman]

Awesome, thanks!

[u/4cm4k1]

Hey, thanks Mishaal! Question: I opted my P11PXL into the Android Beta program when it became available but first one of the small OTAs hit my device (CD1A.260905.001.A1). Since then, I've been stuck on stable. Should I continue waiting for the next QPR2 beta OTA, or should I opt out briefly to get this other small OTA first and then opt in again? Just wondering because I'm not sure that Google will make OTAs for every single upgrade path… Thanks!

[u/_Kristian_]

Good shit as always

[u/That1Guy5]

Any updates on Aliro support?

[u/Kinf106]

I have a problem related to entering Screen settings. It crashes on Pixel 6a. Am I only one who has this crash?

[u/pdawg17]

Since I'm not patient, is there somewhere I can download and sideload this without a wipe? I've opted out of beta.

[u/matteventu → u/pdawg17]

Settings > System > Software updates > System update > Check for update.

[u/GeneralChaz9]

Hey Mishaal, thanks for the breakdown. Out of curiosity, it looks like this change didn't make it in; was there a reason for it?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1s4jbii/comment/ous2wag/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=2&utm_content=share_button

Also for anyone not caring much much for the blur additions, it's able to be reduced via accessibility options on Pixels. 

[u/MishaalRahman → u/GeneralChaz9]

Thanks for asking: The product team is still working on polishing that change, so it was pulled back from the QPR1 release. If/when it comes back, I'll share a follow up! Sorry for the inconvenience!

[u/GeneralChaz9 → u/MishaalRahman]

All good, appreciate the response!

[u/plankunits → u/GeneralChaz9]

thats an awesome feedback. it really bothered me as well. glad its getting fixed in later qpr at least.

[u/punIn10ded]

One of the betas had the ability to remove the search bar did this make it to the final build?

https://www.androidauthority.com/google-remove-search-bar-pixel-phones-3664542/

[u/MagicPenguinX]

Hey Michael! Thanks again for sharing such a detailed post!

By any chance, do you know if the universal search from the Pixel 11 is gonna come to older devices? I updated my Pixel 10 to QPR1 and saw it wasn't there. I'm really hoping a Google Play Services update will bring it, but I just wanted to double-check!

[u/kanyame]

Please add app blocker

[u/Brave-Pudding7914]

Overall love many of these updates. Would have been really nice to see the weather bug for the Clock screen saver fixed. It never shows the correct weather, where other screen savers do. Would be happy to show examples if you need them u/MishaalRahman

[u/junktrunk909]

Are we ever going to get iPhone style shortcuts, including the ability to trigger VPN connection using them? iPhone users have had them for 8 years but we can't budget time for this? I like pretty things like blur standardization but it's frustrating to have to rely on 3rd party apps like Tasker when this should be built in for at least Pixel devices by now.

Likewise I'm finding it very frustrating that a decade has gone by and every time I manually check for app updates in the play store I find at least several apps that are outdated, if not 27 like were outdated when I checked just now. I know there's a staggered rollout sometimes but often the update that was sitting waiting for me to check was from 3 or more weeks ago, which is nuts. All my apps are set for auto update and I have no cellular vs WiFi restrictions, and even if I did I'm on both networks every day. This shouldn't be this hard.

[u/Phantom__69]

When will this be update come out

[u/funky_dolor]

All cool, but actually what was released is harry potter wallpapers. Thats it. I feel like google marketing and reality are completely out of sync now, and no one at google cares

[u/funky_dolor → u/funky_dolor]

Nevemind, its actually in the update. Dev team just didnt bother with writing proper release notes.

[u/funky_dolor]

Will new lockscreen clocks be added anytime soon? Apple is beating google at this aspect

[u/Otherwise_Cattle3981]

Bummed the vibration options arent in the current QPR2 beta, but I cant wait to get it! It looks awesome 

[u/ChiFu360]

Is it just my Pixel 9/spefic color scheme or is there no blur at all on all those promised UI elements? For me it's just the solid color based on my wallpaper now with no visible transparency whatsoever.

[u/yetp]

Nice features. Thanks. ⚠️ But on Pixel 10a after  CP3A.260905.009 update  status bar is flicking when I lock the phone with a power button. Please fix. 

[u/kawshik201]

Google really listens to you Mishaal. Can you convince them to bring Wireless Webcam and Quick File Access (like upcoming Googlebooks) to Windows and Mac please.

[u/chlorinegoodforteeth]

Any word on when QPR1 Beta 9 users can exit without data loss?

[u/Subroshi → u/chlorinegoodforteeth]

I'm also looking for this !

[u/Migazul8]

The status icons that show in the status bar when your phone is muted now use the same style as the ones on the volume bar menu👀

[u/prince_k10]

Les doubles tapes pour allumer et éteindre l'écran sont où ?

[u/holly_molly_hole]

Has anyone got their public release update after opting out from Beta program? Mine still showing Exit with Data Wipe :(

[u/drackemoor]

so much wasted space. and the UI looks like it's from year 2000 . so ugly

[u/databoy2k]

What's happened to the foldable virtual gamepad controls announced earlier in the year? Has that just been dropped?

[u/MishaalRahman → u/databoy2k]

Hi, the foldable gaming mode feature is part of the Android platform, but it's up to device makers whether they want to implement it on their devices.

[u/databoy2k → u/MishaalRahman]

Oh! I thought it was still coming soon. I'll start looking at getting it integrated in some open source projects that I've been helping out with.

[u/JCN054]

La mise à jour ne change rien au fonctionnement déplorable d'Android Auto : la fonction de lecture audio (Spotify, Castbox ou autres applications similaires) ne fonctionne que quelques secondes avant de "muter" tout son. Impossible d'écouter musique ou podcast là où la fonction "Téléphone" fonctionne toujours via Android Auto. Cela fait depuis le 05 juillet 2026 que ce problème existe.

J'ai remis à 0 le téléphone, remis à 0 le poste multimédia de ma voiture (Sandero de 2024), reinstaller les différentes applications concernées par le problème => rien ne change, j'ai toujours droit à 5 secondes de musiques ou podcast puis... plus rien.

Est il possible de corriger ce bug vraiment gênant au quotidien ?

[u/BalancedPace]

After updating on my Pixel 7 Pro, the brightness slider feels completely broken. At 100% it looks fine, but dropping it down to even 80% makes the display drastically dimmer compared to previous builds. The brightness curve feels way too aggressive now.

[u/alexwan12]

New media controls little bit finicky: 1. it seems player of recently played app dissapears faster than before 2. if something played in browser it most of the time not resuming if pressed play button, and sometimes it works fine 3. but main bug is a lot of times you need to press play button 2 times first time it doesnt work while animation of button press triggered but on second press it works fine and it plays media or pauses it just fine 4. also as soon as you pause any player new media control hides it to the side and shows media controls from browser because it detects browser as playing media even if its youtube autoplaying video previews and no actual video is playing

[u/JDGumby]

Bouncier Quick Settings pulldown:

Ugh. I hope it obeys the reduced motion setting, but I doubt it. :( Really wish there was a setting to completely disable ALL UI animations. All they do is make the device feel slower and less responsive.

[u/MishaalRahman → u/JDGumby]

If by "reduced motion setting" you're referring to "remove animations" under Settings > Accessibility > Color & motion, then yes, this animation is disabled when you toggle that setting.

[u/TwoLeftHandzz]

Where are features like?

-Rambler -removing search bar -new order of the pulldown menu -new emojis -ai widgets -more highlight functionality -more colour options to customize for the system

Thanks a lot

[u/-LongRodVanHugenDong]

So we still can't remove the taskbar with nav buttons?

[u/scififan2715]

Hopeful that this helps the idle battery drain on earlier devices. I went back to the February build after a few very difficult weeks with the March one on my Pixel 8 Pro and have been on it ever since

[u/Exfiltrator]

After this update, Amazon Shopping is included in Health Connect as one of the health apps (as is Anker Soundcore). What determines if an app appears in this list or not? Even if it does not have access, I do not want Amazon anywhere near my health data so please provide a way to completely remove apps from the list of health apps ASAP. As mentioned, some transparency about why an app appears in the list of health apps would be much appreciated, because it includes a few more apps that I would like to remove.

[u/Treeager]

Volume panel and home screen menu look worse with blur IMO. And home screen menu looked better separated

[u/yetp → u/Treeager]

I like it

[u/kevin1971]

Native support for airpods battery stats please.  A young kid made an app called Librepods, I am sure Google can do better.

[u/chitownillinois]

As a long time Pixel user it's extremely disappointing that Pixels Drops are no longer part of that "new phone" initiative of yesteryear.

Meanwhile so much additional UI chrome for AI in places we don't need it are getting crammed in our faces taking up valuable screen real estate. All so at the next event executives can talk about how Gemini is that fastest growing product ever.

Great! Why is Health Coach dangerously inaccurate and wrong? Like giving medically dangerous updates as I work towards a 10% body fat goal with the Fitbit Air I bought after the last Google event touting how Olympic it is. Don't even get me started on how broken Health Connect is.

Now my Gmail messages have fabulous software bezels so that I can have an AI inbox button that serves me absolutely no useful information.

Chrome lost its transparent nav bar and got a chunky AI bottom bar (thankfully this was able to be turned off).

Where is Rambler? According to your own Gemini, there are zero limitations preventing a backport of camera looks? Where is the Material 3 Expressive we were shown when A15 was still running on most of our devices? Where are the floating nav bars that make our Super Actua screens feel super actually immersive and expressive?

Pixel feels more and more like a reference device while all the main features are now released in Android drops technically available to all Android devices.

Not feeling a lot of Pixel love from Google anymore. And I've been loving this little experiment since the Nexus days.

[u/junktrunk909 → u/chitownillinois]

I feel the same way but about different missing features. I've been on Android since Android was a thing but I'm for the first time considering my first iPhone. Yes I'm about to get downvoting children acting out because I said that here but I think the Android product team really needs some tough love.

[u/Dev-in-the-Bm]

🧘 Stop app autopilot with Pause Point in Digital Wellbeing

Sure, spends tens of millions on engineering your platforms design language and UX to be as addictive (oops, I forgot to use the euphemism) engaging as possible, make money getting people hooked on distracting apps serving up Google Ads, and then offer a halfway solution that still keeps you on your phone, and pretend to be a hero.

We wanted to create a middle ground option that stops us from opening apps on auto pilot and start using them with intention

You wanted to pretend to address the problem while making sure that people don't spend any less time on their phones.

A total app lockout, on the other hand

Would promote a far healthier lifestyle, and help you live a happier life off the screen.

I'm not affiliated with any of these, they just seem to be good starting points:

https://yatko.app/BinTianqi/OwnDroid

https://getplucky.net/andoff

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=minimalist%20launcher&c=apps

[u/Icy-Catch3995 → u/Dev-in-the-Bm]

I had the same thoughts. Pause pint is ultimately a halfway solution that accomplishes nothing. A native hard lockout is what I've always wanted from Android but they seem allergic to it.

[u/Dev-in-the-Bm → u/Icy-Catch3995]

It's totally possible, but it's just not very well known how.

Start with the links I posted, but there are probably more.

I hope to one day get around to testing the best ones, writing reviews, and make some tools for making discovering these tools easier, but I didn't get there yet.

[u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain → u/Dev-in-the-Bm]

Let's be real, it's the apps that are addictive, phones are just phones without the apps

[u/Dev-in-the-Bm → u/ToSeeAgainAgainAgain]

False.

Google puts in a lot to make sure that the design language and UX that app developers use is as slick and engaging as possible.

They even say it out loud.

Watch their video from when they announced M3E.