Android 17 Beta 3 is released with new features and bug fixes including one you were waitng for

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Google released Android 17 Beta 3 today and the update brought back the ability to say “Hey Google” to call up the Gemini overlay so you can quickly ask a query or request that a task be done. On the first day of this month, we told you that this feature had apparently been broken by an Android 17 Beta update. Now that I can once again use the “Hey Google” hotword and have the Gemini prompt open, I no longer need to long-press the power button to get Gemini to do anything for me.

The App Bubbles feature, announced in the previous Beta release, is now available in Android 17 Beta 3

If you are on the Android 17 Beta program, direct your Pixel to go to Settings System Software updates System update. Follow the directions. Once that is done, open the Gemini app and tap on the Profile icon in the upper right corner. Tap on Settings Talk to Gemini hands-free. Make sure that the toggle shows that the feature is enabled. When you say “Hey Google,” the prompt should appear at the bottom of the screen.

The genius multitasking feature App Bubbles are now available in Android 17 Beta 3. | Image by PhoneArena

Another change that arrived with Android 17 Beta 3 brought back the Search bar in the Pixel Launcher that was there in Android 17 Beta 1. In Android 17 Beta 2, Google brought back the Pixel Launcher Search Bar that had a ring around it that deployed a color theme from the user’s wallpaper. The AI mode icon was placed in a separate circular container at the end of the bar. But once again, Google has made a change. The Google “G” icon and the background of the bar is a color taken from the user’s wallpaper. AI mode is now inside the Search bar, and the Material 3 Dynamic Color ring around the search bar is once again gone.