Android 17 Beta 3 is out now, marking Platform Stability for the upcoming operating system. The build has given us a clear look at most of the new bells and whistles that users can expect when stable comes knocking, but there are under-the-surface changes too.
Main changes like the ability to hide names from app icons, a redesigned screen recorder interface, bubble mode, and other user-facing changes have already been observed. However, the folks over at Android Authority were also able to uncover a hidden home screen “organizer.”
Although not available yet, the utility will likely make its way out in a future release. Once out, the tool will reportedly be able to “arrange entire home screens for you.”
So, for example, when you’re creating/setting up your home screen, the tool will offer to automatically populate relevant apps and widgets and arrange them for you.
When ‘creating a new screen,’ the utility tool will ask you to choose from several app categories. These include Most used, Games, Health & Fitness, Productivity, Travel, Social, and potentially others. These categories are likely gathered and presented based on the apps on your device.
Once you choose a category, you’ll be able to pick from several pre-set layouts to arrange your icons and widgets.
Beyond the automatic organization, the same update also might finally give users the ability to see all their home screens with a bird’s eye view, as seen in the first screenshot in the image above.
Users will reportedly be able to rearrange and delete entire home screen panels with one tap.
The tool, in its current state, doesn’t appear even close to being ready. For reference, those blue circles and pink rectangles weren’t manually added to redact information. That’s simply the way the UI shows up when manually enabled.
It is unlikely to make its way out with the stable Android 17 build, though ‘Organizer’ could roll out with a future Android 17 QPR build.
