Android 17 brings Apple-style Handoff to Pixel and the wider Android ecosystem

Android

• Android 17 adds system-level handoff for seamless device use
• Users can resume tasks across phones, tablets, and Chromebooks
• Feature depends on app support and Google account syncing

Did our AI summary help?

With Android 17, Google is rolling out a system-level “handoff” feature designed to make moving between devices feel far more seamless. The capability allows users to continue what they were doing in a supported app on another device, without having to restart the task or hunt for where they left off.

In practical terms, that could mean starting a browsing session in Chrome on an Android phone and picking it up instantly on a tablet or desktop browser. Messaging apps, productivity tools, and document-based services could also resume mid-task across phones, tablets, Chromebooks, and the web, as long as the user is signed into the same Google account.

While Google has offered elements of cross-device syncing in the past, Android 17 formalises this behaviour into a clearer, platform-level feature. Developers will need to add explicit support for handoff, which means availability will vary by app, at least initially.

The move signals a more deliberate push by Google to strengthen Android’s ecosystem continuity. Seamless device handoff has long been a standout feature of Apple’s platforms, helping tie together iPhones, iPads, Macs, and the web into a cohesive whole. Android, by comparison, has often felt more fragmented across screens.

That fragmentation matters less when users stick to a single device, but modern workflows rarely do. Many people start tasks on their phones during commutes, continue them on laptops at work, and revisit them later on tablets or secondary screens. Android 17’s handoff feature aims to reduce the friction in those transitions by preserving context across devices.

For Google, the change is also about ecosystem stickiness. As Chromebooks, Android tablets, and browser-based apps continue to mature, tighter integration could encourage users to stay within Google’s platform rather than mixing hardware and software from competing ecosystems.

The experience, however, will depend heavily on developer adoption and device compatibility. As with most platform-level features, handoff will become more useful over time as more apps integrate the necessary APIs.

Privacy will also be a key consideration. Because handoff relies on syncing session and activity data across devices, users will need to be comfortable with cross-device account syncing and ensure their Google account is secured appropriately.

Android 17 is currently rolling out through beta releases, with Google continuing to refine features ahead of a stable launch later this year. Handoff appears to be part of a broader effort to better unify Android, ChromeOS, and the web into a single, more coherent experience.

If Google gets this right, Android could finally close one of the most noticeable gaps between itself and Apple’s ecosystem. The real test will not be the feature’s existence, but how reliably it works across apps, screens, and everyday use.