Android 17 QPR1 lands with useful upgrades all over the place

Android 17 has been stable for a few months, and after no fewer than nine beta versions, Google is rolling out its first meaty update. The first Quarterly Platform Release doesn’t bring one game-changing feature that’ll transform how you use your phone, but it makes a surprising number of smaller changes across customization, multitasking, media, Digital Wellbeing, and more. Android 17 QPR1 has a lot to unpack, and we’ll navigate you through it.

In a detailed Reddit post, Google’s Mishaal Rahman outlined what’s changing with the release. Google says QPR1 is rolling out to Pixel devices first, while the additions are now part of the wider Android platform and could therefore show up in updates from other manufacturers later. If you’ve followed the Android 17 betas closely, or own a Pixel 11, some of this will look familiar.

What’s new in Android 17 QPR1?

There’s no shortage of Android 17 QPR1 changes to explore. Here’s the rundown of each in a nutshell:

• Pause Point: Google’s new Digital Wellbeing tool adds a short delay before opening apps you’ve marked as distracting, giving you a few seconds to reconsider the doomscroll you’re about to embark on. You can pause to do a breathing exercise, view a photo, or jump to another app instead. Google announced Pause Point at I/O, and it subsequently debuted on the Pixel 11 series.

Customization and UI

• More background blur: The translucent look introduced with Material 3 Expressive is spreading further through Android. QPR1 adds blur to areas including the volume panel, power menu, home screen context menu, and app folders.
• Screen saver flexibility: You can now choose multiple screen savers rather than committing to just one, then move between them with a swipe from the edge. Their order can also be rearranged in Settings, while a long press opens a quick switcher.

• Custom ringtone vibrations: Android now lets you choose the vibration pattern for individual ringtones, so you’ll know whose calling just from the way your phone pulses in your pocket. This is another feature that first appeared on the Pixel 11 series, which offers options such as Heartbeat, Gears, and several others.
• A bunch of UI tweaks: Pulling down Quick Settings is a little bouncier, while Quick Settings and the notification shade now support predictive-back animations. The home screen context menu has also been tidied up, and even Android’s Settings cog has been redesigned.

Multitasking and productivity

• Recent apps replace taskbar predictions: On large-screen devices, Android is ditching algorithmically predicted apps from the taskbar in favor of apps you’ve actually opened recently. We saw this change arrive during QPR1 testing, and foldables can keep your two most recently used apps in the dock.
• More Terminal customization: Android’s built-in Linux Terminal keeps getting more capable. QPR1 adds customizable fonts and color schemes, configurable keyboard shortcuts, and an option to automatically forward port requests from the virtual machine. The app has also been picking up Material 3 Expressive UI changes.
• Desktop mode improvements: When in desktop mode, hovering over the maximize button can now reveal shortcuts for full-screen, split-screen, and desktop windowing. Picture-in-picture windows are also free to float wherever you place them, rather than snapping to one side of the display.
• Bubbles support drag-and-drop: Content can be dragged straight out of an app running in a floating bubble and dropped into the window underneath it, which should make bubbles a little more useful for multitasking.
• Faster access to notes: A new Quick Settings tile launches your default note-taking app. If you’re using a mouse or touchpad, you can also assign your note-taking app to a corner shortcut.

Media controls

• A redesigned media carousel: Google has removed the old pagination dots and navigation arrow, instead letting you swipe between media sessions with part of the next card peeking in from the side. The new media switcher appeared in QPR1 Beta 3, and the media output button also received a new outlined design.
• Screen recording is a little more private by default: Opening the screen recorder from Quick Settings now defaults to recording your most recently opened app rather than your entire display. You can still switch back to full-screen recording from the dropdown.
• Photo Picker can preserve location data: Apps can now request permission to access the location metadata attached to photos you select through Android’s Photo Picker. Previously, that information was stripped out. Google confirmed the new option last month, and it has already started working in supported apps such as Snapseed.

Input devices, health data, and network connectivity

• Better support for keyboards and other peripherals: Apps gain new APIs to communicate directly with compatible USB and Bluetooth human interface devices, opening the door to features such as companion apps that remap mouse buttons or keyboard shortcuts. Android can also remember when you’ve granted an app permanent or one-time access to a particular USB device, so it doesn’t ask every time.
• Keyboard switching gets more flexible: You can finally hide the globe-shaped keyboard switcher button if you don’t want it sitting beside your navigation controls, something we spotted in QPR1 Beta 3. There’s also a new Keyboard Quick Settings tile for bringing up the keyboard switcher when you actually need it.
• Time format settings make more sense: The old 24-hour clock toggle has been replaced by three options: Automatic, 12-hour, and 24-hour. Automatic chooses the format based on the app’s language.
• Health Connect can calculate distance and calories: Android can now use your device’s step counter to natively track those two metrics through Health Connect. This was among the additions that surfaced in QPR1 Beta 6.
• One less annoying mobile data warning: If you don’t want Android to ask whether you’re sure every time you enable mobile data, QPR1 lets you stop the warning.

Android OS verification

While not listed in Rahman’s Reddit post, there’s one other security addition we’ve confirmed on the new release. Android OS verification is now available under the More security & privacy settings. The tool checks things such as Play Protect certification, your build number, bootloader, and boot state to help determine whether the phone is running an official, secure Android build. You can also verify the software independently using another trusted device, with the two devices exchanging information using QR codes.

AS you can see, there’s quite a bit here, and that’s before getting to the usual bug fixes and security patches. Another Android 17 quarterly release is coming in Q4, probably right around the time you’ve finally got used to all of these changes. Let us know which is your favorite.