Android users are finally getting a feature Apple users have enjoyed for years, as Google introduces Continue On with Android 17 to make switching devices less chaotic.
Announced at Google I/O 2026, Continue On is designed to let users start tasks and seamlessly pick up where they left off across devices. Rather than reopening an app and searching for the same page or draft, users can simply tap on a surfaced continuation icon to continue their tasks on a second Android device.
Continue On also reflects Google’s apparent push to make devices feel more connected within a single user account. The feature has drawn immediate comparisons to Apple’s Handoff, with Google introducing it with limits, saying it will work only when developers enable support for it in their apps.
It has also been said that the feature works bidirectionally, but at launch, it will first support mobile-to-tablet transitions.
How Continue On will work on Android devices
Continue On is meant to provide cross-device continuity for Android users.
The feature requires both a sending device (sender) and a receiving device (receiver) within a single user’s ecosystem. Simply put, both devices must be connected to one identifiable user. In a separate blog post for developers, Google outlined how the feature works, using two Pixel devices running Android 17 beta.
Google says that both devices must be signed in to the same Google account and have Bluetooth turned on. The feature also requires both devices to be on the same Wi-Fi network to send tasks. That is similar to how Apple’s Handoff feature works.
Rather than locking users into a one-way flow, Google says the feature cuts both ways. For instance, one can start casual browsing on their smartphone, then hand off that tab to their tablet when they switch to research mode, and finally back to their smartphone.
App developers will shape how Continue On works
Although Continue On will work on any Android 17 device, third-party app support won’t be automatic.
Google will likely roll out the feature across its services to support app-to-app, web-to-web, and web-to-app handoffs. Third-party apps, however, will have to decide if and how the feature will work. That means that how one app chooses to adopt the feature might differ from how another app adopts it.
An app like WhatsApp, for instance, could allow users to start typing a status on their phone, then transfer it to WhatsApp on their tablet to post. That same app might still decide whether it is convenient to allow users to transfer draft messages across devices.
Google’s job is to provide the native support that app developers can plug into, on their terms.
When can Android users try Continue On?
Unlike some expected Android features, Continue On isn’t a leak. That means users can be certain it will be rolled out, but not now.
Right now, Android 17 is in beta, with its stable version expected to roll out by June.
Google has, however, opened up Android 17 to developers, allowing them to start integrating their apps to support the feature so that, when it finally rolls out with Android 17, users can use it.
Also read: Google’s redesigned Workspace icons bring gradient-style updates to Android, iOS, and web apps.
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