Your Android Phone is About to Become a Lot More Customizable

Google's latest Android 17 update promises to enhance the customizability of Android phones significantly. The update, available as Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 for eligible Pixel devices, includes several bug fixes and introduces new customization and security features. Users now have greater control over the Quick Settings panel's layout.

They can rearrange the main sections of the panel, modify the order of the brightness slider, Quick Settings tiles, and media player. Individual Quick Settings controls can also be rearranged, and selected toggles can appear as larger tiles, providing users with the flexibility to place frequently used controls within easy reach.

In terms of visual customization, Android 17 expands the theming options. The updated Dynamic Color system now allows users to fine-tune their preferred system accent color through a slider, offering more options beyond preset choices. The interface also presents different theme treatments for these colors. Furthermore, Android 17 introduces more blur effects across parts of the system interface, aligning with Google's trend toward a translucent visual style.

These visual changes are still in the beta phase and may be subject to adjustments before the final release.

Another important addition in Android 17 is enhanced protection against social-engineering scams involving call forwarding. When users manually input certain call-forwarding USSD codes, an operating-system-level confirmation message will appear before the request is executed. Furthermore, Android 17 restricts apps from silently triggering call-forwarding commands in the background using standard phone permissions. This new restriction does not impact other USSD functions like account checks and mobile-money requests.