Google has released the first beta version of Android 17 for supported Pixel devices, including the Pixel 6 through Pixel 10 generations, along with the Pixel tablet and original Pixel Fold. The beta focuses primarily on system and API changes rather than user-facing features, marking the beginning of Google's testing phase for the upcoming update.

A significant change in Android 17 is the expanded support for adaptive apps, ensuring applications can scale properly across different screen sizes. This makes apps more usable on large-screen devices like tablets and foldables with multiple displays. The new adaptive app roadmap eliminates developers' ability to opt out of support, requiring any app targeting Android 17 (API level 37) to support resizing and windowed multitasking.

Android 17 Beta 1 also includes improvements to media and camera support, allowing apps to switch between camera sensors more smoothly without starting new activities. The system introduces professional-grade support for the Versatile Video Coding (VVC) standard, enabling more efficient video encoding and decoding. Additionally, Google has implemented new performance optimizations with generational garbage collection, featuring more frequent and less CPU-intensive removal of unneeded processes from memory.