Would it shock you to hear that Android 17 is filled with new AI-enabled features, like improved dictation and vibe-coded widgets? Fortunately, that's not all. The platform is getting non-AI updates too, from an emoji overhaul to a new screentime tool that helps you avoid distracting apps. Google has just revealed the biggest changes coming […]
Tech AI Apps The 9 biggest new features in Android 17 New emoji, AI widgets, and AirDrop for (almost) everyone.
New emoji, AI widgets, and AirDrop for (almost) everyone.
by Dominic Preston May 12, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC Link Share Gift AI-generated widgets are among the features coming to Android this year.
Screenshot: Google Part Of LIVE Android Show 2026: all the news and announcements see all updates Dominic Preston is a news editor with over a decade’s experience in journalism. He previously worked at Android Police and Tech Advisor .
Would it shock you to hear that Android 17 is filled with new AI-enabled features, like improved dictation and vibe-coded widgets? Fortunately, that’s not all. The platform is getting non-AI updates too, from an emoji overhaul to a new screentime tool that helps you avoid distracting apps.
Google has just revealed the biggest changes coming in its next OS update as part of its dedicated Android Show, ahead of next week’s big I/O developer conference . The Android software updates came alongside a tease of upcoming Android-powered Googlebook laptops and a host of Android Auto updates . Here are all the new updates that matter and when you can expect them to arrive on your phone.
All-new emoji Google has overhauled Android’s emoji set — all 4,000 of them. The new emoji are a little more three-dimensional, with depth and detail lacking in the cartoonish versions they’re replacing.
The new emoji will arrive on Pixel phones first, later this year.
Pause Point This is Google’s latest attempt to inject a little extra digital well-being into the Android experience. Once you label certain apps as “distracting,” Pause Point will pop up anytime you try to open one. It won’t stop you using the app, but it will make you wait through a 10-second timer, with prompts to try breathing exercises or open a more productive app instead — the idea being that it’ll give you a moment to realize you don’t really need to doomscroll Bluesky right now after all.
It also lets you set a timer for how long you want to use the app each session, and it has just enough friction to stop you swiping the timer away: It’ll take a full phone restart to turn Pause Point off.
Pause Point lets you set usage timers and do breathing exercises, and it will suggest alternative apps to open.
Google says it will just take “a few taps” to make reaction videos like this.
Screenshot: Google Even more AirDrop After making Android’s Quick Share interoperable with Apple AirDrop late last year on some Pixel and Galaxy phones , Google says support for the feature will roll out more widely this year, including to phones from Xiaomi, Honor, and OnePlus, in addition to already announced support from Oppo and Vivo.
For phones that aren’t compatible, starting today Google is adding the ability to use Quick Share to generate a QR code that iPhone users will be able to scan to receive a file directly to their iCloud storage. Later this year, Google says it will add Quick Share and AirDrop support directly into certain apps, including WhatsApp.
Easier switching from iPhone Google and Apple have been working together for some time on easier ways to switch from one platform to another. Apple did its part in iOS 26.3 , adding support for a new wireless way to transfer files, contacts, messages, homescreen layouts, and eSIMs from an iPhone to an Android device.
It still doesn’t actually work, though, because it requires a compatible Android 17 device to transfer all that to . Google says support will finally arrive this year, starting with Pixel and Galaxy phones.
Rambler And now the AI stuff. Rambler is one of a few new Android features that Google is branding under “Gemini Intelligence,” and which will roll out to “the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer.” Rambler is one of the more interesting of the bunch. It’s a smart real-time transcription tool that will not only cut out filler words like “um” or “ah” from your speech, but will also make your message more concise and correct any errors.
In a demo during a press briefing, Google showed the ability to dictate a shopping list to send in a text message. Rambler not only generated an accurate list, but when the Google rep asked for bananas and then later changed his mind, it knew not to include them at all in the final list. It sounds especially good for the multilingual among us, since it can switch between multiple languages in the same message.
AI-generated widgets Google must have been impressed by Nothing’s vibe-coded Essential App widgets , because it’s introducing its own take on the concept as another Gemini Intelligence feature.
Create My Widget lets you build custom homescreen widgets from natural language. Google suggests a meal planner that recommends protein-heavy recipes, a weather widget for cyclists that prioritizes displaying wind speed and rain, or a live feed of upcoming shows at a local concert venue.
Like Rambler, this will come to select Galaxy and Pixel phones this summer.
Gemini automation Alongside Rambler and Create My Widget, Google is updating Android with a host of other new AI automations. Task Automation, already available for food delivery and rideshare apps on the latest Samsung and Google flagships, is getting expanded support for new apps. Google hasn’t detailed which, though it suggests Gemini will be able to order groceries from a shopping list in your notes app or plan a travel itinerary based on a photograph.
Related Gemini task automation is slow, clunky, and super impressive Chrome auto browse will also come to Android in late June along with a few other AI upgrades for the browser, while Gemini will appear in Autofill to help you complete forms faster.
Check out my colleague Allison Johnson’s roundup of Google’s new Android AI announcements for more on what’s in store.
More security features Android 17 is also packed with a spread of small security improvements for the platform. Some of these are intended to protect users from scams, like a new collaboration with certain banks to block calls spoofing their number, though it requires you to have their banking app installed.
Improved malware detection will scan app behavior for suspicious activity like SMS forwarding or launching in the background, while Chrome’s safe browsing mode will scan app APK downloads for known malware.
There are also new protections for when your phone gets stolen: You’ll be able to enable biometric protection remotely when you mark your phone as lost in Find Hub , and Google is reducing the number of attempts someone can make to guess a PIN or password while increasing the wait time between failures.
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