Google May Roll Out Game Controller Upgrades With Android 17: Check Expected Features
Android 17 is expected to bring new ways to tweak gamepad controls and could even add a built-in virtual gamepad feature.
Google is gearing up to roll out a major Android 17 upgrade, which could transform your phone into a console-like gaming device, with fresh upgrades aimed squarely at improving the experience for physical controller users.
According to an Android Authority report, the upcoming version of Google’s operating system for smartphones is likely to come with a suite of gaming-focused enhancements.
Google is developing native controller remapping for a future Android update, with hints emerging in the latest Android Canary build (a preview version that showcases what’s coming down the line), as per the report.
While the exact release date is not confirmed, it’s widely expected that this feature will arrive as part of the next big Android upgrade, Android 17, the report says. The clues for this feature are embedded in a fresh permission introduced in the Android framework:
android.permission.CONTROLLER_REMAPPING. This permission is protected by a feature flag called com.android.hardware.input.controller_remapping, with its namespace, com.android.hardware.input, clearly linking it to input devices such as game controllers.
Notably, only apps signed with the platform key can access this permission, so the regular third-party apps won’t be able to remap controllers across the system, the report claimed.
Further digging has uncovered hints of a new, dedicated section for game controllers inside the Settings app. At the moment, this menu doesn’t show any content, but the underlying code in the Settings Manifest points to it, eventually listing connected controllers.
It is expected that this area will become the main spot for handling and customising gamepad setups, especially for reassigning buttons, as per the report. Android Authority also analysed the code and found references to a new “virtual gamepad” function.
This would essentially be a digital version of a physical controller, much like the way Android already supports virtual cameras. In this case, the virtual gamepad is probably the tool Android 17 will use to manage and customise button layouts.
The code enables the system to register a virtual input device using familiar hardware identifiers—like vendorId and productId—potentially allowing games to see it as an actual physical controller. This simulated device can replicate all the standard controls one would expect from a real gamepad.
Technology news platform Digital Trends claims that Android 17 is still several months away from release, and the features mentioned are drawn from early code snippets and leaks, so there is a chance they could change, vanish, or grow significantly before the final launch.
Users can expect a regular flow of test versions, developer updates and detailed analyses in the coming weeks as Google continues to fine-tune the way controllers are supported on Android.
