Google unveiled several announcements on the opening day of Google I/O 2026, including “Continue On.” This is a feature of Android 17 that app developers can implement, offering users a seamless experience across multiple devices.
According to Google, “Continue On enables users to start an Android app on one device while transitioning to another within the Android ecosystem, continuing the user journey they started.”
In more straightforward terms, if you are editing a document in the Google Docs app on your Android smartphone, Continue On allows you to pick up right where you left off on an Android tablet, provided both devices are linked to the same account. A handoff suggestion will appear in the tablet’s taskbar.
Handoff suggestion appears in the tablet’s taskbar
Continue On supports both sending and receiving app activities and tasks across any supported Android device. However, at its launch, Continue On will only support transitions from mobile to tablet devices.
The feature offers two types of handoffs: app-to-app handoff and web handoff.
App-to-app handoff allows you to resume using an app on a tablet exactly where you left off on a smartphone. The Google Docs example mentioned earlier illustrates this type of handoff.
With web handoff, your activity and data from the app on your Android smartphone continue in your tablet’s default web browser, not the app itself. For example, if you are drafting an email in the Gmail app on your smartphone, with web handoff, you can finish it on a tablet in a web browser.
Additionally, Continue On has a fallback system. If app-to-app handoff is preferred but the receiving device (tablet) does not have the app installed, the task can open in the receiving device’s default web browser to ensure continuity.
Continue On will be available with the Android 17 release candidate.
