{"id":508940,"date":"2026-04-02T13:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/508940\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T13:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:02:13","slug":"im-testing-android-17s-app-bubbles-and-i-found-a-big-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/508940\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m testing Android 17&#8217;s app bubbles, and I found a big problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\"  title=\"app bubbles android 17 beta 3 pixel 10 pro fold cover screen\"  alt=\"App bubbles in Android 17 Beta 3, running on a Pixel 10 Pro Fold.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/app-bubbles-android-17-beta-3-pixel-10-pro-fold-cover-screen-scaled.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n<p>Last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/time-to-switch-back-to-a-pixel-3577246\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">I switched to a Pixel 10 Pro<\/a> after six years with Samsung, and while I love my Pixel and have no intention of going back, there are things <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/things-i-miss-from-one-ui-3597990\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">I miss from the Samsung experience<\/a>. Pop-up windows are one of the features I miss the most, and to my surprise and delight, Google\u2019s version \u2014 app bubbles \u2014 are available to test in Android 17 Beta 3.<\/p>\n<p>My happiness is immeasurable, and my day is made. At least it would be if I hadn\u2019t already found a major annoyance with Google\u2019s new multitasking feature.<\/p>\n<p>Are you excited for Android 17&#8217;s app bubbles?<\/p>\n<p>47 votes<\/p>\n<p>Yes<\/p>\n<p>36%<\/p>\n<p>No<\/p>\n<p>38%<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t know until I try them<\/p>\n<p>26%<\/p>\n<p>App bubbles are my favorite new Android feature\n<\/p>\n<p>An app bubble is what its name suggests \u2014 a movable, collapsible bubble that contains an app. If you\u2019ve used Android\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-canary-bubble-bar-3576893\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">chat bubbles<\/a>, app bubbles will feel very familiar. Android 17 lets you open any app on your phone or tablet in a small window that you can dismiss and summon without leaving the app you\u2019re already in. There are so <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/how-to-use-android-17-app-bubbles-3652521\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">many ways\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/how-to-use-android-17-app-bubbles-3652521\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">a feature like this comes in handy<\/a>, from easily accessing notes and shopping lists while browsing to jumping between apps while copying and pasting.<\/p>\n<p>I use app bubbles the most while listening to media. Now, I can keep my music or podcast app open as a bubble and easily dismiss it to get back to what I\u2019m doing without any fuss, just like I did with One UI. I know it\u2019s a small thing, but this is how I\u2019ve been using my phone since 2019 with my Galaxy S10 Plus, so being able to do the same with my Pixel is a big deal for me.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, they\u2019re far from perfect\n<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"android 17 app bubble open\"  alt=\"android 17 app bubble open\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/android-17-app-bubble-open.jpg\"\/>Android 17 <img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"One UI pop up windows (1)\"  alt=\"One UI pop up windows (1)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/One-UI-pop-up-windows-1.jpg\"\/>One UI 8.5<img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"One UI pop up windows (2)\"  alt=\"One UI pop up windows (2)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/One-UI-pop-up-windows-2.jpg\"\/>One UI 8.5<\/p>\n<p>If app bubbles are so great, what\u2019s the problem? I\u2019m glad you asked.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s only one way to open an app in a bubble in Android 17 Beta 3: go to your home screen or app drawer, long-press the app icon, and tap the bubble icon. If you need to leave whatever app you\u2019re already in to open an app bubble, you haven\u2019t saved yourself any inconvenience versus opening the app normally.<\/p>\n<p>One UI, meanwhile, has plenty of ways to launch a pop-up window. There\u2019s an option on the overview screen, you can swipe down on a notification as it appears at the top of your screen, long-press and drag any notification down into a pop-up window, use the Edge Panel, and more. Only having one way to open a bubble adds friction to using the feature and makes it easier to forget it exists. Even worse, app bubbles only get clunkier when you want to take an app that\u2019s already bubbled and make it full-screen again.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve got YouTube Music open as an app bubble and you would like to go back to having it open as a normal app, the first thing you\u2019ll try will just stop your music. Dismissing an app bubble closes the app entirely, just as it would if you\u2019d swiped it away from the overview menu.<\/p>\n<p>To put the app back to normal without ruining your music, you have to minimize the bubble, go back to your home screen or app drawer, and tap the app icon normally. That will remove the bubble and open the app full-screen without interruption. Bubbles can\u2019t be resized or separated from each other, either, so you can\u2019t have two of them on the screen at once or resize them so you can still see something important in the main app you have full-screen.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"One UI pop up windows (4)\"  alt=\"One UI pop up windows (4)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/One-UI-pop-up-windows-4.jpg\"\/><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"One UI pop up windows (3)\"  alt=\"One UI pop up windows (3)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/One-UI-pop-up-windows-3.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Samsung\u2019s pop-up windows don\u2019t have these problems. Pop-up windows can be resized, moved around the screen, and displayed alongside other windows. They also show up in the overview screen, can be opened full-screen with a single button in the window\u2019s top bar, and tapping the \u201cX\u201d to dismiss the pop-up doesn\u2019t close the app; it just puts it into the background so it can keep running and be found in the overview screen.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not trying to dismiss Google\u2019s efforts with app bubbles. Despite my criticism, this is still my favorite feature of any recent Android release, and I joined the Android 17 Beta just to use it. I can\u2019t pretend the feature is perfect, though, and the only way app bubbles will improve is with feedback.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"Android 17 App Bubbles\"  alt=\"Android 17 App Bubbles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Android-17-App-Bubbles.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Adamya Sharma \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n<p>Android 17 is still in the early testing phase. Everything we see in it right now, bubbles included, is subject to change before the stable release, and I hope some of these clunky pain points can be addressed by then.<\/p>\n<p> Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/andauth.co\/AAGooglePreferredSource\" class=\"e_Dn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\"><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"google preferred source badge light@2x\"  alt=\"google preferred source badge light@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768240152_738_google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png\"\/><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"google preferred source badge dark@2x\"  alt=\"google preferred source badge dark@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768240152_238_google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-authority-comment-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-authority-comment-policy\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Maring \/ Android Authority Last year, I switched to a Pixel 10 Pro after six years with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[29185,844,2305,2306,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-508940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-android-17","9":"tag-google","10":"tag-google-pixel","11":"tag-mobile","12":"tag-technology","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}