Google releases Android 17 with Eclipsa Video and improved multitasking

Android 17 signals a strategic push to standardize high-performance media delivery across the fragmented Android ecosystem. Native Eclipsa Video support provides a royalty-free, hardware-adaptive HDR path developed in collaboration with Apple and NBCUniversal, potentially challenging Dolby's dominance in premium mobile video. Meanwhile, the mandate for adaptive layouts and interactive multi-window capabilities forces streaming providers to move beyond static player interfaces. These updates concretely address visual and audio consistency issues in low-bandwidth and high-ambient-light environments, which are common in mobile streaming. Watch for Samsung to integrate these APIs into the upcoming One UI 9.0 release for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8 launches in July 2026.

The introduction of Eclipsa Video marks a significant escalation in the battle for HDR dominance. According to HDTVTest (June 2026), the format is officially administered by HDR10+ Technologies LLC and was developed through a rare joint initiative between Google, Apple, and NBCUniversal. By utilizing the SMPTE ST 2094-50 specification, the format aims to solve the 'luminance headroom' problem where HDR content highlights clip or appear dull on mobile panels with limited peak brightness. FlatpanelsHD reported in June 2026 that the standard includes a 'reference white anchor' to ensure SDR and HDR elements coexist seamlessly on the same screen without visual jarring.

On the audio front, Android 17’s inclusion of the Extended HE-AAC (xHE-AAC) encoder follows a long-standing partnership with Fraunhofer IIS. Fraunhofer stated in March 2026 that while xHE-AAC decoding has been part of Android since version 9, the mandatory encoding support in Android 17 will allow for superior audio quality in user-generated content and messaging, supporting bitrates ranging from 12 to 320 kb/s. This allows platforms like Netflix and Instagram, which already use xHE-AAC for distribution, to benefit from more consistent loudness and dynamic range metadata cross-platform.

Samsung is expected to be the first major partner to deploy these features beyond Google's own Pixel hardware. Per SamMobile and Forbes (June 2026), Samsung is currently beta-testing One UI 9.0 on the Galaxy S26 series, with a stable rollout anticipated around July 22, 2026, coinciding with the Galaxy Unpacked event in London. This update is expected to debut on the Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8, bringing Android 17's system-level memory management and foldable-specific 50:50 gaming layouts to the market-leading foldable line.