I can’t remember the last time I was so hyped about an Android update as I was for Android 17.
This wasn’t only about the excitement of new features arriving on my phone, but also the Android 17 update marking the start of the transition to what it called an “intelligence system.”
I wanted to see how all of that would translate into my daily workflow, so I downloaded the stable Android 17 update the day it arrived on my phone.
I knew I would have to wait until late summer to get my hands on those much-hyped AI features.
Still, I installed it as I wanted to see how Android would evolve from here as Google rolls out those widely anticipated AI capabilities.
While I don’t mind waiting a couple of months to try Android 17’s headline AI features, I would’ve appreciated a few meaningful additions to improve my workflow in the meantime.
Instead, what I got were some cute floating bubbles.
I have hope, but Android 17 doesn’t feel like an intelligence system yet
Google’s AI vision for Android is yet to arrive
I’m eagerly waiting for the Gemini Intelligence features to arrive on my phone.
If Google materializes what it promised, a supported Android 17 phone would be able to perform certain actions without step-by-step navigation.
This isn’t unheard of, as Microsoft previously intended to do something similar in a bid to make Windows what the software giant called an “agentic OS.”
However, unlike Windows, we have all seen a glimpse of what an agentic version of Android would look like, and I can’t wait for my phone to execute multistep tasks across different apps on my behalf.
I’m also looking forward to trying AI widgets when they are available on my Android 17 phone.
However, these are all promises at this point, and what’s disappointing is that we haven’t seen anything substantial in the Android 17 QPR1 beta updates.
At this point, whether you download the Stable Android 17 build or the QPR1 beta build, Android 17 doesn’t feel like the intelligence system Google promised to deliver.
App Bubbles is currently the only Android 17 feature I love
I wish Google had packed more impactful features like App Bubbles
Google has made significant changes to the core part of Android to prepare the OS to become agentic, but the company may have forgotten that users will still have to use Android 17 today.
Despite its lack of meaningful features, I haven’t quite written Android 17 off because I love playing with Bubbles.
I don’t know how long the charm will last, but I love everything about it, from the way bubbles travel when I swipe them to how it reveals all bubbled apps upon a single tap.
However, this doesn’t mean Bubbles are only pleasing to the eye and don’t do anything meaningful. I’d argue that they are more useful than they are aesthetically pleasing.
Instead of switching between apps using the swipe-up gesture from the bottom, I launch Bubbles when I need to multitask.
A few days ago, I wanted to copy information from Google Docs to Gmail, so I added both to the App bubbles and switched between them with a single tap.
This is the best way to switch between apps, and I can think of multiple instances where it’ll be handy in my workflow.
For example, instead of launching Chrome and WhatsApp in Split screen, I would add both to create Bubbles. That would keep one app on almost full screen while the other remained a tap away when I need it.
I also love how they know what they want to be, so the feature never projects itself as a replacement for the traditional way of launching apps, the sidebar, or One UI’s Edge panels.
I never keep the floating app bubbles on my screen when I no longer need to multitask, as I always prefer a clean home screen.
So, while they always stay temporarily on my screen, I can feel their impact on my workflow almost daily.
Android 17 lays the foundation, but fails at delivering the experience today
I would put the Bubbles feature in a different league, but beyond that, I can’t recall a single feature that has a similar level of impact on my daily workflow.
That’s because Android 17 doesn’t have one.
However, I like the promise of a better future, and my gut feeling says Google will deliver with Gemini Intelligence later this summer.
Only then will we know whether the Android 17 update was worth the wait.
For now, version 17 feels like just another Android update, mostly focusing on quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes.
