【AI前沿】The 9 biggest new features in Android 17

TechAIAppsThe 9 biggest new features in Android 17New emoji, AI widgets, and AirDrop for (almost) everyone.New emoji, AI widgets, and AirDrop for (almost) everyone.byDominic PrestonMay 12, 2026, 5:00 PM UTCLinkShareGiftAI-generated widgets are among the features coming to Android this year.Screenshot: GooglePart OfAndroid Show 2026: all the news and announcementssee all updatesDominic Prestonis a news editor with over a decade’s experience in journalism. He previously worked atAndroid PoliceandTech Advisor.Would it shock you to hear that Android 17 is filled with new AI-enabled features, like improved dictation and vibe-coded widgets? Fortunately, that’s not all. The platform is getting non-AI updates too, from an emoji overhaul to a new screentime tool that helps you avoid distracting apps.Google has just revealed the biggest changes coming in its next OS update as part of its dedicated Android Show, ahead of next week’sbig I/O developer conference. The Android software updates came alongside a tease ofupcoming Android-powered Googlebook laptopsanda host of Android Auto updates. Here are all the new updates that matter and when you can expect them to arrive on your phone.All-new emojiGoogle has overhauled Android’s emoji set — all 4,000 of them. The new emoji are a little more three-dimensional, with depth and detail lacking in the cartoonish versions they’re replacing.The new emoji will arrive on Pixel phones first, later this year.Pause PointThis is Google’s latest attempt to inject a little extra digital well-being into the Android experience. Once you label certain apps as “distracting,” Pause Point will pop up anytime you try to open one. It won’t stop you using the app, but it will make you wait through a 10-second timer, with prompts to try breathing exercises or open a more productive app instead — the idea being that it’ll give you a moment to realize you don’t reallyneedto doomscroll Bluesky right now after all.It also lets you set a timer for how long you want to use the app each session, and it has just enough friction to stop you swiping the timer away: It’ll take a full phone restart to turn Pause Point off.Pause Point lets you set usage timers and do breathing exercises, and it will suggest alternative apps to open.Image: Google / The VergeScreen ReactionsGoogle wants to make it easier for budding content creators to put together reaction videos dunking on the rest of the internet. With that in mind, it’s rolling out Screen Reactions, which lets you record video from your selfie camera and what’s on your screen at the same time, all “in just a few taps.”You can record any onscreen content — photos, videos, webpages, and more — and you’ll appear as a cutout in front of it. Screen Reactions will launch on Pixel phones first, sometime this summer.Google says it will just take “a few taps” to make reaction videos like this.Screenshot: GoogleEven more AirDropAfter making Android’s Quick Shareinteroperable with Apple AirDroplate last year on some Pixel andGalaxy phones, Google says support for the feature will roll out more widely this year, including to phones from Xiaomi, Honor, and OnePlus, in addition to already announced support fromOppoand Vivo.For phones that aren’t compatible, starting today Google is adding the ability to use Quick Share to generate a QR code that iPhone users will be able to scan to receive a file directly to their iCloud storage. Later this year, Google says it will add Quick Share and AirDrop support directly into certain apps, including WhatsApp.Easier switching from iPhoneGoogle and Apple have been working together for some time on easier ways to switch from one platform to another. Apple did its part iniOS 26.3, adding support for a new wireless way to transfer files, contacts, messages, homescreen layouts, and eSIMs from an iPhone to an Android device.It still doesn’t actually work, though, because it requires a compatible Android 17 device to transfer all thatto. Google says support will finally arrive this year, starting with Pixel and Galaxy phones.RamblerAnd now the AI stuff. Rambler is one of a few new Android features that Google is branding under “Gemini Intelligence,” and which will roll out to “the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer.”Rambler is one of the more interesting of the bunch. It’s a smart real-time transcription tool that will not only cut out filler words like “um” or “ah” from your speech, but will also make your message more concise and correct any errors.In a demo during a press briefing, Google showed the ability to dictate a shopping list to send in a text message. Rambler not only generated an accurate list, but when the Google rep asked for bananas and then later changed his mind, it knew not to include them at all in the final list. It sounds especially good for the multilingual among us, since it can switch between multiple languages in the same message.AI-generated widgetsGoogle must have been impressed byNothing