I’ve tested Android 17. You’re missing nothing

Don’t come at me with your bubbles

After months of leaks and four public betas, Android 17 is finally here. Except it isn’t, really.

Ignoring the fact that non-Pixel Android phone owners will be waiting months for the upgrade, Google’s latest edition is about as half-baked as it gets.

Hours after the official announcement, I rushed to install Android 17 on my Pixel 10 Pro XL, keen to experience the exciting new features that Google announced last month.

But none of the good stuff is available yet. In fact, unless you’re an influencer, there’s not much that’s new here at all.

If you were considering being an early adopter, I honestly wouldn’t bother. For most people now, Android 17 is basically just a glorified security update.

Where are our agents?

Ahead of its event covering the future of Android last month, Google’s Android Ecosystem President Sameer Samat teased the announcements on X as the “Biggest. Android. Updates. Ever”.

Unsurprisingly, a large chunk of that event was dedicated to Gemini Intelligence, its new vision for Android. It’ll supposedly transform the way we interact with our phones, allowing us to hand off key tasks to AI agents that’ll handle all the annoying admin in the background.

For most people now, Android 17 is basically just a glorified security update

So, it’s reasonable to expect at least something in a full, public release of Android 17, right? Wrong.

I’ve spent a fair bit of time exploring Android 17, and so far, I haven’t seen Gemini Intelligence mentioned once. Gemini is still here, of course, but there’s no reference to those potentially game-changing agentic AI features.

It’d help if we actually had a firm release date for Gemini Intelligence. All Google is saying is that “features will roll out in waves” and that Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones will be prioritised.

As for when we’ll get all the new features that Google showed off last month, that’s anyone’s guess. But if you’re installing Android 17 now in the hope of getting a taste of Gemini Intelligence, you’ll be bitterly disappointed.

When is Pause Point getting the go-ahead?

I understand that huge changes such as Gemini Intelligence take more time, even if I wish Google was more transparent about that. But I don’t get why an altogether more basic Digital Wellbeing feature hasn’t made the cut.

‘Pause Point’ is Google’s proposed intervention to reduce mindless phone use. When you open an app that you deem to be distracting, you’ll need to wait for 10 seconds or shift to something that you’ve pre-defined as more worthwhile.

It mimics the experience of third-party apps such as One Sec, about which there’s clear evidence to support its effectiveness.

As someone with a keen interest in reducing scrolling time, I was excited to give Pause Point a try (even if I think Google could’ve gone further). While Google’s vague “coming later this year” wasn’t a confirmation that it’d launch alongside Android 17, it’s a real shame not to see it here.

A meagre update

So, what’s actually new? Despite everything that’s missing, Google has at least added some new features in this version.

As someone who doesn’t use Instagram, I care about approximately none of that

For example, the ability to finally remove app labels from the home screen creates a much cleaner look and feel. Ditto for the much-requested splitting of Wi-Fi and mobile data toggles in the quick settings panel. These are more a case of Pixel phones catching up to other Android handsets, but it’s still very welcome.

You might consider ‘Bubbles’ to be an exciting new feature. But the floating windows that live at the side of your display and encourage distraction are an irritation, at best. To say they haven’t won me over in Android 17 would be an understatement.

Elsewhere, the only major new features are designed to improve the Instagram experience, especially when it comes to capture within the app and AI editing tools. But as someone who doesn’t use Instagram, I care about approximately none of that. Unless you’re a serious poster, neither will you.

I could see myself using Screen Reactions, though, which allows you to overlay video from your selfie camera on top of anything on your phone – no green screen required. But it requires a Google AI subscription to access it. I don’t remember hearing that when it was announced.

Basically, unless you really care about posting on Instagram or a couple of small quality of life improvements, Android 17 in its current form is instantly skippable. I ‘upgraded’ in the hopes of finding game-changing features or interesting hidden functionality, but Google has kept things to the bare minimum for now.

Android 17 could eventually be great but, right now, it looks and performs almost exactly like Android 16.