Google is bringing a new cross-device feature to Android 17 that works similarly to Apple’s Handoff, letting users start a task on their smartphone and pick it up seamlessly on a compatible tablet.
Called “Continue On,” the feature was announced in 2026 and will initially support one-way handoffs — from phone to tablet only. Android tablet users will see a Continue On icon in the dock displaying the most recently used app from their phone, provided that app is also installed on the tablet.
The feature supports a range of common tasks. Users will be able to open documents they were editing, jump back into an email they had open, or, in some cases, have the tablet’s browser load the most relevant page to continue a web-based task.
Google says Continue On will be available to test in Android 17’s RC1 build — its first release candidate version — though the company has not yet specified when that build will arrive. Google also has not announced a timeline for when tablet-to-phone handoffs will be supported, though the feature is described as eventually being bidirectional.
The announcement follows last week’s reveal of Android-powered Googlebook laptops, and together the two developments could suggest a broader push toward cross-device interoperability within the Android ecosystem. This may position Android more competitively against Apple’s established suite of inter-device coordination tools, though Google has not made that comparison directly.
Source: The Verge