Android 17 Beta 2 Released: Lets Users Create Bubble for Any App Expands SMS OTP Protection

Earlier in this month, Google began rolling out the first beta of the Android 17 update for eligible Pixel devices who are part of its company’s Android Beta programme. Android 17 focuses on offering improvements to multiple fronts, including performance, while also providing an enhanced user experience, the company says. In addition, it is alleged to have efficiency improvements for the phones. Earlier this month, the Tech giant in Mountain View has released Android 17’s second beta update with new features and expanded scam protection for its users that is now available. Additionally, the company is hoping to achieve the platform stability milestone by the middle of next month.

Android 17 Beta 2 Features, Improvements

The tech giant, based in the US, said it has started to roll out the second beta of the Android 17 update for eligible Pixel smartphones in an Android Developers blog. It also includes several core functionality, privacy and performance improvements as well as system-level UI improvements and changes that are added to the new beta update.

As the Android 17 Beta 2 update is released testers can bubble apps with bubble. A long press on an app icon in the pinned taskbar triggers these floating bubbles, which allows users to see app pages in a multi-window format for improved multitasking and app organisation; this means they can move bubble around. It plans to launch the service on tablets, smartphones and foldable phones with Android 17 running in a new version of the company’s latest mobile phone.

The Google is also developing a new “system-level” EyeDropper API, which lets developers let their applications request for colour from any of the pixels on the screen. This will not require users to provide “sensitive screen capture permissions” for this functionality.

The new contacts picker in Android 17 Beta 2 has a user request for temporary read-only access to populate certain data fields as part of the newly introduced contact pickers. But this means that it reduces the need for broader access permissions, according to its firm.

Additionally, the Handoff API is also introduced in Android 17 Beta 2 version. This means that users will be able to leave anything specific in any app on one device (and then return it) the same again on another Android phone. If a user wants to read something on an even larger screen, for example, they can switch from ‘phones and tablets’ (e.g. It operates in the same way as Apple’s Handoff feature, which allows a seamless transition from iPhone to iPad and iPad to MacBook.

Last night Google is extending the SMS OTP protection functionality to all types of messages with OPT to stop OTC hijacking. Similarly, apps that do not have permission to access WebOTP format messages will be able to get the same after three hours of receiving the OTP when it was received.