• Google hasjust announcedthe release of Android 17 Beta 1 with performance improvements, H.266/VVC video codec support, smoother camera mode transitions, privacy and security enhancements, and more. • The company is not releasing Developer Previews anymore, and instead follows the “continuous Canary channel” announced with thefirst Android 16 Developer Preview. • So, with Android 17, the very first release is the “Beta 1” release. • Some of the key changes in Android 17 so far: Developers can’t opt out of orientation and resizability restrictions on large screen devices (sw > 600 dp), so they’ll have to make sure their apps work on tablets, foldables, and desktop windowing environments. • With one exception: apps categorized as games with android:appCategory flag. • Google publisheda separate blog postabout the change.

Article Summaries:

  • Google has released Android 17 Beta 1, marking the first official release of the new OS. The update drops Developer Previews in favor of a continuous Canary channel and introduces several key changes. Apps must now support large‑screen orientation and resizability, while games are exempt. Performance gains include a lock‑free MessageQueue, generational GC for ART, and new profiling triggers. Media improvements add dynamic camera session updates, logical multi‑camera metadata, VVC/H.266 hardware decoding, and a constant‑quality video mode. Security updates deprecate cleartext traffic, add HPKE hybrid cryptography, and harden background audio. Connectivity gains feature enhanced VoIP call history and new Wi‑Fi ranging/proximity APIs.

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