Google is testing a brand-new customisation option for Android that could change the way you interact with your phone day to day. For the first time, the latest Android 17 beta lets Pixel users change the basic layout of the Quick Settings panel, not just what’s in it.
Quick Settings has long allowed you to pick your tiles and arrange their order, but the underlying structure of the menu has always been fixed. That’s now up for grabs.
According to 9to5Google, early testers running Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 have discovered a hidden option that lets you rearrange the menu’s three main sections.
Assuming this makes the final cut, it would mark the biggest customisation leap Quick Settings has seen on a Pixel phone, making it noticeably more convenient to use day to day.
3 sections can be rearranged
Specifically, you can rearrange three key sections of the expanded Quick Settings:
- Brightness slider
- Quick Settings tiles
- Permanent media player
The three elements can be rearranged via drag-and-drop, giving you six possible layout combinations in total.
If you’re someone who’s constantly skipping tracks or podcast episodes, for instance, you could move the media player to the very top. Others might prefer the brightness slider or the main Quick Settings tiles front and centre.
There’s one limitation, though: you can’t hide any of the sections outright. For now, Google only lets you reorder them.
Small Change, Big Everyday Impact
At first glance, this feature might not sound like much. In everyday use, though, it could prove genuinely useful — many people open Quick Settings dozens of times a day to toggle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, the torch, or flight mode.
Depending on your habits, a different layout could make your most-used controls faster to reach. This matters even more on larger phones, where the position of a toggle can be the difference between a comfortable one-handed tap and an awkward stretch.
No guarantee yet for the final version
For now, this feature has only surfaced in the Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3, a test build for Pixel phones — and it’s still an open question whether it’ll make the jump to a stable release. Google routinely trials features in beta that never end up shipping.
Meanwhile, the company is putting the finishing touches on its September Feature Drop. According to Android Authority, the newly released Android 17 QPR1 Beta 9 focuses on fixing bugs — including issues with Circle to Search, battery drain, boot loops, and foldable-specific glitches — rather than introducing new features.
Still, for users, this beta is a signal of where Google’s heading: further customization of the Android interface. Letting people reorder their own Quick Settings would be another step down that path.
