A few days ago, Google said that it would soon release the first Android 17 beta, and it did, but it immediately halted the release without any explanation. Well, the good news is that Google has resumed releasing Android 17 beta 1, and it is now available for Pixel devices.
Google says this build continues its work for more adaptable Android apps and brings significant enhancements to camera and media capabilities. Additionally, the Android 17 build includes expanded profiles for companion devices and new tools for customizing connectivity.
Google has also replaced the Developer Preview with Android Canary, which was introduced last year. Continuous Canary Channel provides three main benefits listed below:
- Fast access: Instead of waiting for quarterly releases, features and APIs come into the canary as soon as they pass internal testing.
- Better Stability: Initial “battle-testing” in Canary has resulted in a more refined beta experience with new APIs and behavior changes that is close to being final.
- Easy test: Canary supports OTA updates (no more manual flashing) and, as a separate update channel, integrates more easily with CI workflows and gives you the earliest window to immediately react to upcoming potential changes.
In addition to announcing the release of the first Android 17 beta, Google also announced that it will be moving faster from this beta to its platform stability milestones, targeted for next month.
The internet search giant also talked about its plans for quarterly Android 17 updates, meaning the next release will arrive in Q2 2026, and it’s the one with which Google will introduce planned app-breaking behavior changes. A minor SDK release is planned for Q4.
If you have a Pixel device already enrolled in the Android beta program, you will receive Android 17 beta 1 as an OTA update. If not, you can head over to this path to enroll in the beta program and view the list of eligible devices here.
If you don’t have an eligible Pixel device, you can use 64-bit system images with the Android emulator in Android Studio to try Android 17 beta 1.