GoKawiilJoe Maring / Android Authority
A little over a week ago, Google began rolling out the latest update to the Android 17 Beta — specifically, Android 17 Beta 3. Beta 1 and Beta 2 both proved to be pretty light on user-facing changes, and Beta 3 has already shown it has a lot more to offer.
I’ve had Android 17 Beta 3 downloaded on one of my Pixels since its release, and after my first week with it, there are four features in particular that I can’t get enough of.
What's your favorite thing about Android 17 Beta 3? 42 votes App bubbles 29 % Separate Wi-Fi and mobile data toggles 29 % Assistant volume 7 % Hide app names on home screen 12 % Other (let us know in the comments) 7 % Nothing 17 %
App bubbles
Joe Maring / Android Authority
If there’s one hallmark feature of Android 17 Beta 3, it’s app bubbles. Google first announced app bubbles alongside the release of Android 17 Beta 2 back in February, but they weren’t actually available to use until last week in Beta 3. And as it turns out, they were (mostly) worth the wait.
Using app bubbles is simple. From your home screen or app drawer, press and hold on the app you want to bubble, then tap the new app bubble icon (the one that looks like a square with an arrow pointing at a circle). Just like that, the application opens as a floating bubble. Tapping the app icon minimizes the bubble, where it then lives on the side of your screen (and can be moved around as you please).
Joe Maring / Android Authority
What I really like about app bubbles is that you can have multiple bubble shortcuts at once. I’ve found this especially handy for having all of my messaging/communication apps in one place. With one tap on my app bubbles shortcut, I have immediate access to Slack, Google Messages, Gmail, and Telegram. It’s great.
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