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Google caught everyone off guard ๐Ÿ˜ฒ.

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Google surprises with the first Android 17 beta! Discover new privacy and security features, performance updates, and see if your Pixel device is eligible.

Google caught everyone off guard ๐Ÿ˜ฒ. Just three days after confirming Android 17 was on the horizon ๐ŸŒ…, the first beta has officially landed ๐Ÿš€. Itโ€™s an unexpectedly quick turnaround for a release that promises to sharpen privacy ๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ, tighten security ๐Ÿ”’, and smooth out overall performance โšก.

Beyond the usual under-the-hood polish โœจ, there are some fundamental shifts in how Android handles apps and hardware โš™๏ธ. Here is everything you need to know about the rollout, the devices that made the cut, and whatโ€™s actually changing ๐Ÿ“‹.

ย Is your device on the list? ๐Ÿ“ฑ

As per usual, Googleโ€™s own Pixel lineup gets the first bite of the apple ๐ŸŽ. While other manufacturers will eventually join the beta program, for now, itโ€™s a Pixel-only affair ๐Ÿคซ.

If you own any of the following, youโ€™re eligible to jump in ๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™‚๏ธ:

Pixel 6 Series:** 6, 6 Pro, 6a ๐Ÿ“ฑ

Pixel 7 Series:** 7, 7 Pro, 7a ๐Ÿ“ฑ

Pixel 8 Series:** 8, 8 Pro, 8a ๐Ÿ“ฑ

Pixel 9 Series:** 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, 9 Pro Fold, 9a ๐Ÿคณ

Pixel 10 Series:** 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL, 10 Pro Fold ๐ŸŒŸ

Foldables & Tablets:** Pixel Fold, Pixel Tablet ๐Ÿ“–

Essentially, if youโ€™re carrying a Pixel 6 or newer, you donโ€™t have to wait months for the stable release to see what Google has been cooking ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿณ.

ย How to get Android 17 Beta 1 right now ๐Ÿ“ฒ

The installation process depends on where youโ€™re starting from. If your Pixel is already enrolled in the beta program and running Android 16 QPR3 Beta 2.1, you can breathe easyโ€”the update should hit your device automatically ๐Ÿ“ฅ. Just head to **Settings > System > Software Updates** to trigger the download โš™๏ธ.

If youโ€™re currently on a stable build, youโ€™ll need to take an extra step ๐Ÿšถโ€โ™‚๏ธ:

1.ย  Go to [google.com/android/beta](https://google.com/android/beta) ๐ŸŒ.

2.ย  Sign in with the Google account linked to your phone ๐Ÿ”‘.

3.ย  Find your device and select **โ€œOpt in.โ€** โœ…

4.ย  Once confirmed, check your phoneโ€™s settings for the update ๐Ÿ”„.

A quick word of advice:** This is a beta โš ๏ธ. Things can (and sometimes will) break ๐Ÿ’ฅ. Before you hit install, make sure your photos and important files are backed up to the cloud or a physical drive โ˜๏ธ๐Ÿ’พ.

ย Whatโ€™s actually new? โœจ

This first release marks a bit of a structural shift. Google is moving away from the traditional “Developer Preview” label in favor of an Android Canaryโ€ program ๐Ÿฆ. The idea is to get features and APIs into the hands of developers faster, ensuring better stability without the headache of manual flashing โšก.

ย Better behavior on big screens ๐Ÿ“บ

If you use a tablet or a foldable, youโ€™ve likely dealt with apps that refuse to resize or rotate properly ๐Ÿ”„. Android 17 is putting its foot down. For any device with a “smallest width” of 600dp or more, apps are now required to support resizable windows and both landscape and portrait orientations ๐Ÿ“. They can no longer opt out of these basic behaviors.

ย Under-the-hood performance ๐ŸŽ๏ธ

Google is also fine-tuning the engine. Theyโ€™ve introduced a “Lock-free MessageQueue” to help eliminate those annoying dropped frames ๐ŸŽž๏ธ and “Generational Garbage Collection” to make the system more efficient with CPU usage ๐Ÿง . Itโ€™s technical stuff, but it translates to a phone that feels snappier and lasts longer on a charge ๐Ÿ”‹.

Camera and Connectivity ๐Ÿ“ธ

The update brings “Dynamic Camera Sessions” for smoother transitions between shooting modes ๐ŸŽฅ and “Versatile Video Coding” (VVC) support for hardware that can handle it. On the connectivity side, there are significant updates to Wi-Fi Ranging for better proximity detection ๐Ÿ“ถ and new dedicated profiles for medical devices and fitness trackers to make pairing and permissions less of a chore ๐ŸฉบโŒš.

Whatโ€™s next? ๐Ÿ”ฎ

Google is moving fast ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚๏ธ. According to their roadmap, weโ€™ll hit the โ€œPlatform Stabilityโ€ phase as early as next month. Thatโ€™s when the APIs are finalized and the final polish begins ๐Ÿ’Ž. If everything stays on track, we should see the stable rollout sometime in the third quarter of 2026 ๐Ÿ“….

Weโ€™ll be keeping a close eye on every new build as it drops ๐Ÿ‘€. You can check back here for updates or head over to our Telegram channel for instant alerts on the latest tech news ๐Ÿ“ข.

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What are you actually doing with Gemini? ๐Ÿค–

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Is Gemini just a “flashy” โœจ gimmick, or is it actually saving you time? โณ From coding shortcuts ๐Ÿ’ป to “impossible” spreadsheet formulas ๐Ÿ“Š, Iโ€™m finally finding where AI makes senseโ€”and I want to know if you are too. ๐Ÿค”

ย 

Further reflecting on Googleโ€™s practical focus for Gemini and AI in general at I/O 2026 last week ๐Ÿ—“๏ธ, I still find myself struggling to find ways to actually make this technology useful in ways that actually matter. ๐Ÿ˜ตโ€๐Ÿ’ซ So, what are you doing with Gemini? ๐Ÿค–

ย 

Over the past couple of years, AI has been a part of daily life. ๐Ÿ“… Not necessarily in use, but at least in hearing about all the โ€œprogressโ€ being made with it. ๐Ÿ“ˆ I donโ€™t really consider myself a flat-out AI hater, but Iโ€™m not exactly the biggest fan of this technology. ๐Ÿ™…โ€โ™‚๏ธ AI can do impressive things, but it usually feels like a game of trying to reinvent the wheel. ๐ŸŽก Geminiโ€™s AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search are a pretty flashy new experience, but they ultimately do the same thing, though often while being worse at that thing (all while Google admits the web is โ€œin rapid declineโ€ ๐Ÿ“‰ โ€“ I wonder why). AI tools, Googleโ€™s or otherwise, just donโ€™t feel like an objectively better improvement, but usually a lateral evolution thatโ€™s also wildly resource-intensive ๐Ÿ”‹ โ€“ Iโ€™m totally not bitter about RAM prices or anything. ๐Ÿ’พ

ย 

But, through it all, I am still trying to find places where Gemini and AI as a whole make actual sense in my life โ€“ itโ€™s just an uphill battle. ๐Ÿ”๏ธ

ย 

Perhaps the best real-world use case Iโ€™ve seen for AI is in coding. โŒจ๏ธ Being large language models, the reasoning of building out code is something these tools can be remarkably good at. Iโ€™ve only toyed around with this, building out a quick Chrome extension ๐Ÿงฉ I needed, but I can immediately see the appeal. I still believe that a good developer ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ’ป needs to be behind anything built by AI โ€“ especially anything sold or widely distributed โ€“ but the utility is obvious. ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

Outside of that, though, itโ€™s pretty hit or miss. ๐ŸŽฏ

ย 

As mentioned in last weekโ€™s Weekender, I think Google is doing a good job in coming up with ideas for where AI can be useful. ๐Ÿ’ก One recent โ€œeurekaโ€ moment for me in finding use cases for Gemini was in Google Sheets. ๐Ÿ“

ย 

Spreadsheets can be a huge headache ๐Ÿค•, but theyโ€™re really good at their job if you know how to use them. Personally, I think Iโ€™m at least not inept at using a spreadsheet and creating formulas to get what I need done, but the advanced side of things has never been easy. It usually involves a ton of searching around the web for tips and tricks, and then a ton of trial and error to make those tips work in the specific context of what Iโ€™m actually working on. ๐Ÿ” Gemini is really good at this, though. Without getting into the details, I was trying to build out a spreadsheet that could take multiple inputs โ€“ player names, payments, and a payout structure โ€“ and spit out results. ๐Ÿ’ธ I spent an hour trying to do this the โ€œold-fashionedโ€ way, but eventually I tried out Geminiโ€™s integration into Sheets. Using natural language, it was able to spit out formulas that could actually use the context of the rest of the spreadsheet, creating โ€œCOUNTIFโ€ and โ€œXLOOKUPโ€ formulas ๐Ÿ”ข that were far beyond what I would have been able to figure out on my own, and frankly, didnโ€™t even know to research in the first place. I still had to make plenty of manual tweaks โœ๏ธ, something I couldnโ€™t do if I hadnโ€™t already learned how to use a spreadsheet and its formulas without AIโ€™s help, but Gemini saved me a ton of time and frustration. โœ…

ย 

Workspace as a whole is somewhere Gemini can be handy. ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Iโ€™m still left with an uneasy feeling about the whole โ€œDocs Liveโ€ demo from I/O, but Sheets formula generation and perhaps image generation ๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ in a Slides presentation are actually useful ways to put AI to work. ๐Ÿš€

#image_title

ย But, really, I want to hear from our readers on this one. ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ

ย What are you using Gemini for? โ“

ย Search? Productivity? Coding? Iโ€™m really quite curious how you find Googleโ€™s AI tools useful. Letโ€™s discuss! ๐Ÿ’ฌ

ย This Weekโ€™s Top Stories ๐Ÿ“ฐ

Why Google redesigned Workspace icons, again ๐ŸŽจ

ย Rolling out widely, Googleโ€™s new Workspace icons are a big change for the second time in recent memory. Why the change? ๐Ÿ” In short, Google is using these new designs to reflect the โ€œGemini eraโ€ while also giving every app its own identity ๐Ÿ†” โ€“ the latter being everyoneโ€™s problem with the last big redesign.

ย Google on why it redesigned the Gmail and Workspace icons ๐Ÿ“ง

ย Motorola was hijacking the Amazon app, and we still donโ€™t know why ๐Ÿ•ต๏ธโ€โ™‚๏ธ

ย We reported earlier this week on some bizarre behavior on Motorola smartphones ๐Ÿ“ฑ which left the Amazon app redirecting through your browser with just enough time to inject an affiliate code ๐Ÿ”—, monetizing your traffic. The behavior has since stopped, but Motorola declined to explain what happened, and why this was routed through a random fashion influencer. ๐Ÿ‘ 

ย 



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๐Ÿš€ 9 Essential Things to Know About Googleโ€™s Massive AI Search Upgrade ๐Ÿค–๐Ÿ”

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Explore Googleโ€™s massive 2026 AI Search overhaul featuring Gemini 3.5 Flash, autonomous agents, and a redesigned search box. Here are 9 crucial takeaways.



Google just unveiled one of the most significant overhauls to its search engine in years at Google I/O 2026 ๐ŸŒ. By weaving artificial intelligence deeper into the fabric of Search ๐Ÿค–, the tech giant is rolling out smarter utilities, heightened personalization, autonomous AI agents, and bespoke interactive features โœจ. Here is a breakdown of the nine most crucial takeaways from Googleโ€™s ambitious new AI Search roadmap ๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ.

Gemini 3.5 Flash becomes the new global standard โ™Šโšก

Google confirmed that Gemini 3.5 Flash will now serve as the default engine powering AI Mode in Search across the globe ๐ŸŒ. According to the company, this newly integrated model is specifically engineered to process advanced tasks with greater speed and superior overall performance ๐Ÿš€.

A completely reimagined, AI-centric search box ๐Ÿ”

The traditional search bar is getting a massive upgrade ๐Ÿ†™. Google has introduced a redesigned, AI-first search box that encourages users to type longer, more conversational queries ๐Ÿ’ฌ. It also embraces multimodal inputs, allowing you to search using images, uploaded files, videos, and even active Chrome tabs ๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ๐Ÿ“น๐Ÿ“‚.

Seamless follow-up conversations ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ

Gone are the days of starting a new search from scratch. Users can now ask follow-up questions directly within their AI-generated results ๐Ÿ”„. Google notes that the system retains the conversational context from your previous prompts, ensuring that subsequent answers and supporting links remain highly relevant ๐Ÿง ๐Ÿ”—.

Autonomous AI agents arrive in Search ๐Ÿค–๐Ÿ•ต๏ธโ€โ™‚๏ธ

In a major leap forward, Google is deploying information-gathering AI agents capable of continuously monitoring the web on your behalf ๐ŸŒ. These agents can keep a watchful eye on specific topics and alert you to updates regarding apartment listings ๐Ÿ , product drops ๐Ÿ›๏ธ, financial market shifts ๐Ÿ“ˆ, and sports scores โšฝ.

Streamlined bookings and local services ๐Ÿ“…๐Ÿ“

Search is vastly expanding its utility when it comes to booking local services and experiences. You can now input highly specific requirements, and Google will do the heavy lifting by pulling together real-time pricing and availability data from a variety of providers ๐Ÿ’ฐ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ.

Let Google make the call for you ๐Ÿ“ž

For certain service categoriesโ€”namely beauty ๐Ÿ’‡โ€โ™€๏ธ, home repair ๐Ÿ , and pet care ๐Ÿพโ€”Google is rolling out a feature that allows Search to actually contact businesses on your behalf. Currently, this concierge-like capability will only be available to users in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ.

A highly interactive user interface ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธโœจ

Search is moving beyond static text with new, AI-driven generative UI experiences. Depending on the complexity of your query, the engine can now generate interactive visual elements, real-time simulations, data tables, and dynamic graphs on the fly ๐Ÿ“Š๐ŸŽจ.

Custom AI mini-apps for everyday tasks ๐Ÿ“ฑ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

Google announced that Search will soon have the ability to build personalized dashboards and tracking tools for ongoing projects, like planning a fitness routine ๐Ÿ‹๏ธโ€โ™‚๏ธ, organizing a move ๐Ÿ“ฆ, or coordinating an event ๐ŸŽˆ. These custom, AI-powered mini-apps will initially launch exclusively for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the US ๐Ÿ’Ž.

The future of traditional Search results ๐Ÿ”ฎ

These sweeping AI upgrades signal a definitive, albeit gradual, pivot away from Google’s classic “10 blue links” format ๐Ÿ”—. While regular Search will still display standard web pages, most of these new capabilities are locked into AI Mode ๐Ÿค–. However, as AI-generated summaries, conversational flows, and autonomous agents take center stage, it is highly likely that users will eventually spend less time manually clicking through multiple websites ๐Ÿ–ฑ๏ธ๐Ÿ“‰.



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7 Essential Facts About the Samsung and Google Android XR Smart Glasses 7๏ธโƒฃ๐Ÿ“

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Samsung and Google unveil AI smart glasses at Google I/O 2026. Featuring Gemini AI, Android XR, and stylish designs by Warby Parker and Gentle Monster.



At Google I/O 2026 ๐Ÿš€, Samsung and Google officially unveiled their highly anticipated AI-powered smart glasses ๐Ÿ‘“. Crafted in collaboration with iconic eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker ๐Ÿค, this new wearable seamlessly blends Gemini AI capabilities โœจ into a stylish, everyday accessory. Although the full technical specifications remain a closely guarded secret ๐Ÿคซ, the tech giants have shared a few tantalizing details about what we can expect from this intelligent eyewear.

Powered by Android XR ๐Ÿค–

Samsung and Google have confirmed that these sleek frames are built on Googleโ€™s new Android XR platform ๐ŸŒ. Rather than acting as a standalone computer, the glasses are designed as a versatile companion device that pairs effortlessly with both Android and iOS smartphones ๐Ÿ“ฑ.

Deep Integration with Gemini AI ๐Ÿง 

Thanks to built-in Gemini AI ๐Ÿช„, users can rely on simple voice commands ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ to navigate city streets ๐Ÿ“, discover nearby recommendations, summarize incoming notifications ๐Ÿ””, and manage their calendars ๐Ÿ“…. According to Google, the onboard AI is also capable of processing and understanding the wearer’s physical surroundings in real time ๐Ÿ‘๏ธ.

Live Translation Takes Center Stage ๐ŸŒ

One of the standout features is real-time translation ๐Ÿ’ฌ. The glasses can effortlessly translate live conversations, as well as decode menus, street signs ๐Ÿ“–, and other visible text right within your field of view. Impressively, Samsung and Google note that the translated audio output is designed to mimic the vocal tone of the original speaker ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ.

#Google Android XR

Equipped with a Built-In Camera ๐Ÿ“ธ

Based on official press images, the frames sport a single integrated camera paired with a discreet LED indicator light ๐Ÿ’ก. This setup ensures privacy transparency while allowing wearers to seamlessly snap photos and record videos on the go ๐ŸŽฅ.

Two Distinct Design Aesthetics ๐ŸŽจ

To ensure the smart glasses appeal to a wide array of tastes, Samsung tapped Gentle Monster and Warby Parker for the debut collection ๐Ÿ•ถ๏ธ. Gentle Monster brings a bold, fashion-forward edge to the table โœจ, whereas Warby Parker offers a classic look that closely resembles traditional daily eyewear ๐Ÿ‘“.

Seamless Galaxy Ecosystem Integration ๐ŸŒŒ

For existing Samsung users, the intelligent frames will feel right at home ๐Ÿ . The company promises seamless integration across its Galaxy ecosystem ๐Ÿ“ฒ, allowing the glasses to sync flawlessly with Galaxy smartphones and wireless earbuds ๐ŸŽง for a richly connected user experience.

Coming to Select Markets Later This Fall ๐Ÿ‚

Don’t expect AR holographic displays just yetโ€”Google has confirmed that this first-generation wearable will prioritize audio-based interactions over visual projections ๐Ÿ”Š. The glasses are slated to launch in select markets this fall ๐Ÿ—“๏ธ, with official pricing and full hardware specs to be unveiled in the coming months ๐Ÿ’ฐ.



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