These 3 features completely changed my Pixel

Android 17 betas have been hit-and-miss with user-facing changes. Plus, with a thrilling name like “Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3,” I wouldn’t blame you for thinking this was a pretty boring beta release focused on bug fixes and other optimizations.

However, after spending a few days with the new beta on one of my Pixels, I’m happy to report that there’s a surprising number of new features to dig into. In fact, they’ve made my Pixel so much better than I expected.

Without a doubt, my favorite thing in Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 is the ability to rearrange the Quick Settings layout. You’ve long been able to change your Quick Settings toggles, but the actual layout of the panel — with your brightness at the top, toggles below that, and media player at the bottom — has always been locked in place. But no longer in Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3.

When you swipe down to view your Quick Settings and tap the edit icon, you’ll see a new “Layout” button at the bottom of your screen. Tap this, and you’re taken to a new “Edit tiles” page where you can change how the Quick Settings panel is laid out.

Want your shortcut toggles at the very top with your brightness slider in the middle? You can do that! What about moving your media player to the top and your brightness to the bottom? Sure thing. However you want to arrange these elements, Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 gives you free rein.

I’m not particularly picky about where my media player goes, but the fact that I can now have my brightness slider at the bottom of the Quick Settings panel — making it much easier to reach with one hand — is a godsend.

I’m similarly excited about the improvements Google made to Dynamic Color theming. As it currently stands in Android 17, Google gives you a handful of preset color options you can select for your system/accent color based on your wallpaper, and you can’t change or customize them. These work just fine, but if you’re a customization fiend like I am, they’ve probably left you wanting more.

As you might have guessed, Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 changes this. If you go to the Colors section on the Wallpaper & Style page, you can still choose from a preset list of colors based on your wallpaper, along with other basic options that are always available. However, you have a couple of new toys to play with.

If you tap the pencil icon above your currently selected color, you can choose between one of four variations of it: Neutral, Soft, Bright, and Bold. Additionally, tapping the new paint palette icon lets you drag a slider to create your own color if you aren’t happy with any of the existing styles.

Put these two things together, and you’re looking at a significantly better approach to customization on Pixel phones. Even after just a few minutes of playing with these new features, I’m already missing them on my Pixel 11 Pro running stable Android 17.

Although I initially brushed off App Lock after downloading Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3, the more I use the new beta, the more I think App Lock might be kind of brilliant.

Using App Lock is simple. You press and hold an application (either on your home screen or in the app drawer), tap the new “App lock” option, then tap “Add app lock.” Locking an app like this does a few things:

• Notification content is hidden.
• Widgets and shortcuts related to that app are removed.
• You can only open the app using your fingerprint, face unlock, or PIN.

The more I think about it, the more I think App Lock could be legitimately useful for a handful of apps on my phone. I have lots of shopping apps installed, but I hate how many notifications I get from all of them. And if someone were to get a hold of my phone and somehow get past the lock screen, having an extra layer of security on those apps to prevent unexpected shopping sprees would be great. Putting an App Lock on those apps solves both of those problems.

I might even do the same for apps like Reddit and X. A one-tap solution for silencing notifications from those apps sounds great, and having some extra security on my social media apps isn’t a bad idea, either.

If you want to try these features on your Pixel for yourself, the good news is you can download Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 right now. Simply visit the Android Beta for Pixel website, log into your Google account, enroll your Pixel, and download the OTA update to Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3. So long as you have a Pixel 6a or newer, you’re in the clear.

Alternatively, if you don’t like the idea of messing with beta software, Android 17 QPR2 should be fully released sometime in December — likely with even more features than what we see here today in Beta 3.