Android 17 on Pixel 9 Pro: App bubbles make multitasking easier

Android 17 has arrived for Pixel devices. The upgrade landed on my Pixel 9 Pro this morning and took roughly 30 minutes to download and install; Pixel owners can expect the update soon, while other Android handsets will need to wait until it arrives for their model.

Desktop mode is a major addition: plug your phone into an external monitor and attach a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to transform the phone OS into a desktop — Google's version of Samsung's DeX, and it already felt polished during beta testing. App bubbles are my favorite change: long-press an app launcher and tap Bubble (or the small square) to dock apps as bubbles on the homescreen, add multiple apps to a collection, and switch between them quickly.

You can only have one collection of bubbles on the homescreen at a time, and some apps include a Bubble entry while others do not. Screen recordings can now include the selfie camera, letting you narrate while appearing on screen from the shoulders up; enable it via Quick Tiles > Screen recording and turn on Selfie cam.

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