Android 17 launches with new multitasking tools as Google expands Gemini features

Googling on Tuesday issued the final version of its Android 17 operating system, as well as its smartwatch counterpart, Wear OS 7. Arriving first on its own Pixel devices, the latest release is also accompanied by a Pixel dropwith new features including support for the latest AI models such as the music generation model Lyria 3, the multimodal Gemini Omni and speech-to-translation tools for the Pixel 10a with AudioLM.

The latest feature release underlines Google’s strategy to use its Android and Pixel devices to showcase its latest AI technology. While rival Apple focuses on catching up in AI with the public launch in September of AI upgrades for Siri and iOS 27, Google’s Android 17 focuses on the latest AI models, Gemini’s role in creation, communication and other device experiences.

In today Pixel dropAndroid Quick Share’s file sharing feature becomes compatible with Apple’s AirDrop on older Pixel 8a and 9a devices. Additionally, Gemini Omni now lets you edit videos in-conversation, while Lyria 3 allows users to create music tracks with text prompts and/or images in the Gemini app. Pixel 10a devices also get better speech-to-speech translation tools with AudioLM.

It also comes with other phone features, such as the ability to record a personalized outgoing audio message for callers when you can’t answer. Additionally, the ‘Take a Message’ feature will appear in more global markets.

The Pixel Drop also adds emergency detection features to the Google Pixel Watch, meaning if the watch detects a car accident, a fall, or a lack of heartbeat, it will automatically contact emergency services and your selected emergency contacts.

In addition to AI, Android 17’s bigger update allows users to take advantage of features like a ‘bubble bar’, a new user interface element that lets you organize, move and then quickly open recent apps that appear as bubbles at the bottom of your screen. The feature is designed to speed up app interactions and aid in multi-app workflows.

Social media users may like Android 17’s new feature that allows them to record themselves simultaneously using the selfie camera and the phone screen for screen reaction videos that can be shared on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and others.

Parental controls and security features have also been improved in this latest release, adding a “Mark as Lost” feature in Find Hub, Live Threat Detection and other threat defenses, in addition to screen time limits and content filtering tools that can now be set with a PIN without linking a Google Account.

A new foldable gaming mode offers a 50/50 split with a dynamic gamepad.

Meanwhile, watch owners can now receive live updates from phone apps that mirror to the Pixel Watch. Smartwatches will also work better with it Google’s upcoming AI glasses and other hardware, such as headphones.

This summer, Wear OS will introduce more Gemini Intelligence features, such as tools for creating personalized widgets by simply describing them, and it will be able to provide ‘Personal Intelligence’ by connecting your Google apps and chat history to Gemini.

Improvements in battery life – up to 10%, Google claims – and multi-step automation will also appear in the new Wear OS.