Google has released Android Canary 2603, and it contains one of the most welcome reversals in Android’s recent history. The March 2026 Canary build rolls back some of Android’s most complained-about UI decisions and adds several features that Android users have been requesting for years. Here is every change spotted in the new build and what it means for the future of Android 17.
The Separate Wi-Fi and Mobile Data Toggles Are Back
This is the headline change, and it is a big one for anyone who has used Android since 2021.
Until Android 11, Android’s Quick Settings panel featured two independent tiles: one for Wi-Fi and one for mobile data. You could disable either with a single tap. Starting with Android 12’s Material You redesign, Google merged them into a unified “Internet” tile. To turn off Wi-Fi without turning off mobile data — or vice versa — you had to open the tile, find the relevant toggle inside the expanded menu, and then act on it. Two steps where there used to be one.
This allows users to kill a hanging Wi-Fi signal or disable data with a single tap from the Quick Settings shade once again. It is a humble admission from Google: sometimes, efficiency beats a simplified aesthetic.
Android once again has separate Quick Settings Tiles for Wi-Fi and Mobile data. If you have the current Internet Tile set, that will become Wi-Fi and you can manually add Mobile data.
This is a feature that Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and virtually every major Android skin preserved throughout the years Google removed it. Stock Android is now catching up.
Native App Lock — No Third-Party App Required
App lock will allow you to lock an app with a pin, password, or fingerprint. When locked, notifications, widgets, and shortcuts will be hidden. You can activate app lock by long-pressing on the app.
This is a meaningful privacy feature that has been in Samsung One UI, Xiaomi MIUI, and most other Android skins for years. On stock Pixel devices, locking a specific app previously required installing a third-party app — which often had battery drain side effects and required its own permissions. The native implementation in Canary 2603 handles everything at the system level, and because it hides notifications and widgets alongside locking the app itself, it provides stronger privacy coverage than most third-party solutions managed.
App Bubbles for Any App — Not Just Conversations
By long-pressing an app on the homescreen or app drawer, you can bubble an app. The bubble can be moved anywhere on the screen. To close the bubble, you can either long-press the app icon or tap the Manage button to bring up the Dismiss bubble option.
Android’s bubble system has existed since Android 11, but until now it was limited to messaging apps and conversation-type content. Canary 2603 extends it to any app — opening any application as a floating, moveable overlay on top of whatever else you are doing. The practical benefit is significant for multitasking: you can keep a calculator, a notes app, or a timer floating while working in a full-screen document without switching fully between apps.
Blur Effects Are Getting Heavier Throughout the OS
Canary 2603 expands the system-wide use of translucent blur effects. Blur is now more pronounced in the Widgets pane, permission dialogs, the screen recorder panel, and various system menus, giving the interface a layered, depth-driven look that feels more modern and consistent.
This is Android’s response to the trend — visible in iOS 26’s Liquid Glass, Samsung’s One UI 8.5 gradient engine, and ColorOS’s evolving blur system — toward translucency as the dominant visual language for mobile operating systems.
Long-Press App Menu Is Redesigned
The menu that appears when you long-press an app icon on the home screen has been reorganized. Long-pressing on an app will reveal the new App lock and Bubble options, with the latter officially announced last month as part of Android 17 Beta 2. It’s fully active as of today’s Canary. If an application has 2-4 app shortcuts, they will be hidden inside a new “Shortcuts” menu.
The effect is a cleaner initial view when long-pressing: you see primary system actions (App Lock, Bubble, App info) without a wall of app-specific shortcuts cluttering the first screen.
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Screen Recorder Gets a Proper Post-Recording UI
The screen recorder tool receives a practical overhaul. Instead of a notification appearing in the status bar after you finish a recording, a new floating panel appears immediately offering options to view the recording, share it, delete it, start a new recording, or edit it directly. A small change with a meaningful impact on the post-recording workflow for content creators and anyone who uses screen recording regularly.
When Will These Features Come to Stable Android?
Features shown here can still be removed before a stable release, even if some eventually appear in beta builds. Even so, this build offers a useful snapshot of where Android may be heading next.
Canary builds are experimental — designed for developers, not everyday use, and available only by manually flashing via the Android Flash Tool on supported Pixel devices. The next step is watching which of these features make it into Android 17 Beta 3 and beyond.
Based on the pattern of recent Canary-to-beta feature graduation, the separate Wi-Fi/data toggles and native App Lock are the most likely to survive into Android 17 stable, given that both are responses to persistent user demand and were also teased in Android 17 Beta 2. App Bubbles were already confirmed in Android 17 Beta 2, making them a near-certainty.
Android 17 stable is expected around June 2026, previewed at Google I/O on May 19.
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