What you need to know
- Android 17’s new Pause Point feature lets you reduce clutter by adding a short pause before opening distracting apps.
- Pause Point will show suggestions for breathing exercises, photos, or audiobooks instead of locking apps completely.
- Google is finally redesigning Android emojis with a new 3D look similar to what iPhones offer.
- The new 3D Android emojis will first roll out to Pixel phones with Android 17 features later this year.
If you spend an unhealthy amount of time on your phone, as I do, Google is introducing a new Android feature that can really help you pause and live in the moment, while also fixing one of my biggest gripes with Android: emojis.
Next to it Googlebook ad and along with a number of other Android updates, Google also showed off a few small Android 17 features that actually seem surprisingly useful.
A new Digital Health feature for one of the new additions is called Pause Point Reduces mindless doomscrolling. It works a bit like app timers, but instead of blocking you completely, Pause Point offers a short 10-second pause when you open an app you’ve marked as a distraction.
During this pause, Android encourages you to think about why you opened the app in the first place. During these few seconds, Android can also show alternative suggestions, such as breathing exercises, app timers, favorite photos or audiobooks.
Plus, Pause Point is more practical than traditional app timers because they’re easy to turn off and ignore. Google says Pause Point is meant to encourage more multi-purpose app usage. In fact, if users try to disable the feature entirely, Android will require a full restart of the phone before it can be disabled, adding another layer of friction.
The second feature isn’t nearly as practical, but it’s still something I’ve wanted for a while. Android is finally getting new 3D emojis. Many people, myself included, have complained that Android emojis are flat and uninspired compared to the iPhone, and Google is finally addressing that with Android 17.
Instead of the usual flat look, the new emojis have a 3D depth effect, closer to what it is apple currently offers. Google describes them as “the difference between perceived message and perceived presence.” The new emoji style will begin rolling out across Google’s ecosystem later this year Pixel phones.
Android Central’s Take
Pause Point feels like one of the first Digital Health features that might actually work. A small pause before opening Instagram or Xi sounds annoying at first, but that’s exactly why I think it will be effective.
Also, better Android emojis. Finally!
