Google continues the visual evolution of the Android OS, and Android 17 brings additional changes to the system interface, primarily through significantly greater use of the blur effect. After last year’s Material 3 Expressive redesign, the new approach has already been spotted in internal versions of the system intended for Pixel phones, as well as through system tags that explicitly describe this look as “blur”.
In practice, Android 17 gradually abandons clear uniform light or dark backgrounds in system elements and replaces them with semi-transparent layers with a blur effect. This effect makes it possible to see the content behind the element the user is currently working with.
Android 17 brings more depth, less plain flat surfaces
For example, the volume slider gets a semi-transparent, “pill” field that houses the slider itself, mode switches, and other controls. When activated on the home screen, the background and application icons are visible in the background, while inside the application, the content can be glimpsed below the slider itself. The extended volume panel, as well as the menu for turning off and restarting the device, get a similar visual treatment.
Blur effects are additionally nuanced in accordance with the Dynamic Color theme, so that they fit into the overall color palette of the system. However, despite these changes, Android 17 does not bring a drastic visual turn like last year’s redesign. Most of the elements look and behave familiarly, with carefully selected refreshes of certain parts of the interface.
It is worth recalling that Google first introduced blurring in notifications and the Quick Settings panel with Android 16 QPR1. At the time, the company stated that the slight blur contributes to a sense of depth and smoother animations, while maintaining awareness of apps running in the background.
Android 17 continues on that path, but with a more subtle approach compared to iOS’s “Liquid Glass” style. For now, the blur remains limited to the system interface, while it has not been confirmed whether apps will receive a similar visual treatment in the future, reports 9to5Google.