Beta 4 came out on 16 April 2026, three weeks after Beta 3. Google called it “the last scheduled beta of this release cycle”. The API surface was already locked, so it brought few new APIs and one change every app feels: memory limits.
| Release date | 16 April 2026; Beta 4.1 on 1 June 2026 |
| Build | CP21.260330.008; Beta 4.1 CP21.260330.011 |
| Security patch | 2026-04-05; Beta 4.1 2026-05-05 |
| Devices | Supported Pixel phones and tablets over the air; 64-bit Android Emulator images |
| Platform stability | Yes, since Beta 3 |
What Beta 4 added
- App memory limits. The system kills an app whose memory use passes a
limit derived from the device’s total RAM. Google set the limits
“conservatively” for Android 17, to catch extreme leaks and outliers. An
affected app finds
"MemoryLimiter"inApplicationExitInfo.getDescription(). The memory limits part below covers it in full. TRIGGER_TYPE_ANOMALY. A newProfilingManagertrigger hands the app a heap dump when it breaches the memory limit, or a binder stack sample when it makes excessive binder calls. The callback runs before the system enforces anything.- ML-DSA in Android Keystore. On supported devices, apps can generate
ML-DSA-65andML-DSA-87keys in secure hardware throughKeyPairGenerator,KeyFactoryandSignature. - LeakCanary in Android Studio. Android Studio Panda adds LeakCanary as a task in the Profiler.
What Beta 4 changed
- Background audio, relaxed. After developer feedback, Google limited the while-in-use foreground service requirement to apps targeting 37 and exempted alarm audio.
- Cross-profile loopback blocked. Loopback traffic between profiles is no longer allowed by default, for every app on Android 17. Traffic within one profile is unaffected.
Beta 4.1, a bug-fix update, followed on 1 June. Android 17 itself shipped on 16 June.