Google launches Wear OS 7 with Live Updates and a battery life boost
Image: Google
Android foldables are getting new gamepad controls.
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.
Android 17 arrives on Pixel phones today
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 Google / Xreal Aura XR glasses are now available to preorder
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 toward the launch purchase later this year, “saving you $100 on the final price.”
Android 17 is getting its own version of Apple’s Handoff
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.
“Continue On” is designed to eventually be bidirectional, but Google says that at launch it will only support tasks moving from a smartphone to a tablet. Android tablet users will see the Continue On icon in the dock suggesting the most recently used app from their phone, assuming it’s also installed on the tablet.
Wear OS 7 will keep track of deliveries and sports scores on your wrist
Amid the flurry of today’s Google I/O announcements, Google shared details about Wear OS 7, the next major update to its smartwatch platform. To help you keep track of things like deliveries and sports scores, Wear OS 7 will get the iPhone-style Live Updates that were introduced on Android last year — which can appear on your watch or your smartphone — and you’ll also be able to track automated tasks that an AI is working on right from your watch.
Wear OS is also getting an upgrade from its widget-like Tiles for glanceable information. With the new update, Google is adding “Wear Widgets” to the platform, which look more like Android widgets and can appear in small or large layouts that “align perfectly” with Android’s 2×1 and 2×2 widget formats. There are some AI-powered features coming to Wear OS 7 as well, including the introduction of Gemini Intelligence, Google’s catch-all branding for personalized and proactive Gemini features, on “select watches” launching “later this year.”
A first (and second) look at the Android XR glasses launching this year
Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge
I first put on a pair of prototype Android XR glasses nearly a year and a half ago. We still have months to go before any Android-powered smart glasses are available, but Google is finally ready to show off the progress it’s made. That starts with Project Aura, a dark pair of sunglasses that sits somewhere between a full headset and a lighter pair of mixed-reality glasses.
There has been a handful of hardware updates since I last tried out Project Aura in October. The glasses, made in collaboration with Xreal, now feature a carrying case and a new design for their compute puck. Google was mum on the chip inside, aside from the fact that it’s more powerful than the previous puck. The puck also has a fingerprint scanner, so you can unlock the device more easily. And in addition to a waist clip, there’s now a lanyard so you can wear the puck around your neck, in case you’d like to channel peak Gadget Dad vibes.
The 9 biggest new features in Android 17
Would it shock you to hear that Android 17 is filled with new AI-enabled features, like improved dictation and vibe-coded widgets? Fortunately, that’s not all. The platform is getting non-AI updates too, from an emoji overhaul to a new screentime tool that helps you avoid distracting apps.
Google has just revealed the biggest changes coming in its next OS update as part of its dedicated Android Show, ahead of next week’s big I/O developer conference. The Android software updates came alongside a tease of upcoming Android-powered Googlebook laptops and a host of Android Auto updates. Here are all the new updates that matter and when you can expect them to arrive on your phone.
A new Android 17 beta reveals plans for “Pixel Glow” light animations.
The Pixel Glow details say it “uses subtle light and color on the back of your device to inform you of important activity when it’s face down,” when interacting with Gemini, or when favorite contacts are calling.
Android 17 will let you share one-time location data with apps.
If you choose the option, you’ll be able to share your precise location until you close an app, which might be a good choice if you just need to give your location to an app to quickly check one thing.
Android 17 will also add a persistent indicator that tells you when a “non-system app” accesses your location.
Image: Google
The second Android 17 beta is out now for Google Pixel.
There are also cross-device app handoffs, which can work with a web app even if it isn’t installed on the second device.
Google and Xreal extend hardware partnership for Android XR.
Google enlisted Xreal to bring Android XR to life in a compact set of AR glasses, resulting in Project Aura. They’ll launch in 2026, but Google is already locking down Xreal’s hardware chops for another couple years. It’s now designated as a lead hardware partner for Android XR.
A first look at Google’s Project Aura glasses built with Xreal
Teased at Google I/O, Project Aura is a collaboration between Xreal and Google. It’s the second Android XR device (the first being Samsung’s Galaxy XR headset) and is expected to launch in 2026. Putting it on, I get why the term “smart glasses” doesn’t exactly fit.
Is it a headset? Smart glasses? Both? Those were the questions running through my head as I held Project Aura in my hands in a recent demo. It looked like a pair of chunky sunglasses, except for the cord dangling off the left side, leading down to a battery pack that also served as a trackpad. When I asked, Google’s reps told me they consider it a headset masquerading as glasses. They have a term for it, too: wired XR glasses.
Google announces Android XR, a new OS for headsets and smart glasses
Google is taking another run at making headsets work. The company just announced Android XR, a new operating system designed specifically for what Google calls “extended reality” devices like headsets and glasses. It’s working with Samsung and lots of other hardware manufacturers to develop those headsets and glasses, is making the new version of Android available to developers now, and hopes to start shipping XR stuff next year.
We don’t yet have a ton of details on exactly how Android XR will work or how it might differ from the Android on your phone. (The Verge’s Victoria Song got to try a few demos and prototypes — make sure you read her story.) Google is making immersive XR versions of apps like Maps, Photos, and YouTube and says it’s developing a version of Chrome that lets you do multiwindow multitasking in your browser. It will also support existing phone and tablet apps from the Play Store, much in the same way Apple supports iPad apps in the Vision Pro.
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