- Google has confirmed that several new Android 17 features are on the way
- Three of the most-anticipated updates did not get announced, though
- Poll reveals that Gemini Intelligence is the most exciting new feature
Ahead of Google’s annual developer conference, aka Google I/O, later today (May 19), the company announced a slew of new updates to its Android 17 operating system — but some rumored features were noticeably absent.
Leading up to the Android Show, at which Google confirmed several new features and improvements like 3D emojis and ‘Screen Reactions’, speculation had been building around several unannounced Android 17 tools discovered in beta versions by code diggers.
From a visual redesign to a new home-screen customizer tool, there seemed to be some evidence suggesting that these new Android 17 features would be announced during the showcase.
As expected, we did get a visual refresh in a roundabout way with Material 3 Expressive, which builds upon the Android 12 design update Material You with more dynamic colors and response animations. But it stopped short of the Liquid Glass-eque redesign that some leaks had hinted at.
The rumored home-screen customizer tool also appeared, but in a different form to what was expected. While Google didn’t technically announce this, it did reveal a new Create My Widget tool, which arguably goes even further by letting users generate personalized widgets more easily.
But what about the rumored ‘Motion Assist’ feature (officially called Motion Cues in Android beta code), app locking, and a new gesture control tool? According to two separate polls we ran that saw close to 850 votes combined, users might not be too disappointed that these weren’t announced, as those features ranked among the least anticipated.
The most exciting new Android 17 features
Of the new Android 17 features and upgrades that were announced during the event, Gemini Intelligence is perhaps the biggest reveal, as it upgrades Gemini to be far more capable, making it more of an agentic AI assistant.
Given how heavily AI featured across many of Android’s new additions, it’s hardly surprising that 46% of TechRadar readers said Gemini Intelligence was the upgrade they were most excited to try.
That’s by a long way too, as only 20% of readers polled were most interested in the new range of 3D emojis, while 19% were excited about the speech-to-text translation tool, Rambler. Features like Pause Point, which helps with managing screen time, new creator tools like Screen Reactions, and Gemini integration in Chrome ranked among the least anticipated.
What do we expect to see announced at Google I/O?
With Google I/O starting today, we’re expecting Google to give Gemini Intelligence a second plug to better showcase some of its potential use cases, including its new agentic AI assistant, called Remy.
There’s also a good chance that Google might show off more AI-infused hardware, including the already announced Googlebook laptops, the Google Home Speaker, and Android XR smart glasses.
Let us know which of these rumored products and services you’re most excited to try by voting in the poll below. And if there’s something we haven’t mentioned, make sure to let us know by leaving a comment.
Want to tune into Google I/O 2026? Check out our how to watch guide for everything you need to know. And make sure to also follow our coverage as we report on the event, which starts at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST on May 19, or 3am AEST on May 20.
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