// THE VERGE — MOBILE & WEB
All the latest news on Android 17, Wear OS 7, and Android XR
Google’s Android 17 update includes highlights like new floating “Bubble” app windows for easier multitasking, a Screen Reaction recording mode, and a 50/50 split gaming mode for foldable phones. Meanwhile, Wear OS 7 brings Live Updates and better battery life for smart watches, and it prepares connections for new Android XR smart glasses that will launch this fall.
The update is rolling out to Pixel phones first, then other devices, with some features, like Gemini Intelligence, set to debut later this year.
Google’s Wear OS 7 update is starting to roll out today for the Pixel Watch 2, 3, and 4 , adding a new Live Updates feature that tracks live events from your Android smart watch. Live Updates will now sync with Wear OS devices, so updates like sports scores or an ongoing meal delivery will show up on both your watch and your phone.
You might also notice your watch lasting a little longer — Google claims Wear OS 7 offers up to 10 percent more battery life than Wear OS 6.
Pixel foldables get the new feature first, which is being added to Android 17 alongside native controller remapping, but only rolls out “in the coming months.” We’ve seen control options like this in other foldables before, but it’s welcome to see Google bake it into the OS.
Following its official debut last month, Google is now rolling out Android 17 to compatible Pixel phones, alongside additional exclusive features as part of the June Pixel Drop. Not every feature announced alongside the OS at the pre-I/O Android Show is available today, though.
Android 17 itself is arriving on Pixel phones today, and Google says other manufacturers will be issuing the update throughout 2026. The biggest user interface update is the introduction of Bubbles, floating app windows that you can open with a long press — similar floating windows are already found in many Android skins, but are now an official part of 17. Google is making them more useful on bigger screens, with a dedicated “bubble bar” dock at the bottom of the screen for easier multitasking on foldables and tablets.
The Project Aura glasses collaboration between Xreal and Google is now one step closer to being something you can buy. Reservations for the second Android XR device, now dubbed the Xreal Aura, are available for $99 starting today, with a full launch in the US, UK, Japan, Canada, and South Korea expected sometime this Fall.
The Xreal Aura follows Google’s first Android-powered XR device, the Samsung Galaxy XR headset, which launched at $1,799 in October 2025. We still don’t have a full price for the Aura — which Google has previously described as “a headset masquerading as glasses” — but Best Buy will be the first in-store retail partner when it does become available. Xreal also says that those who reserve within a two-week launch offer will receive $199 credit towards the launch purchase later this year, “saving you $100 on the final price.”
Google is adding a new Android feature that resembles Apple’s Handoff, allowing you to start a task on your Android phone and continue it right where you left off from a compatible tablet.