Android 17 Min Mode brings persistent live activities to the AOD
Most Android phones offer an always-on display (AOD) for quick glances at the time and notifications. It’s handy—but limited. Even with Android’s newer Live Updates, you still have to pick up the phone to see the whole story. According to Android Authority’s code analysis, Google is building a major evolution for Android 17 that could let apps fully integrate with the AOD through a new system called “Min Mode.”
What is Android 17 Min Mode and where it lives
References to Min Mode were found inside Android’s SystemUI package—the persistent process behind the status bar, notifications shade, Quick Settings, recents, volume panel, lock screen, and, crucially, the AOD itself. Per Android Authority, Min Mode is part of the AOD’s code path and appears designed to let Android apps render their own specialized, minimal UIs directly on the low-power screen.
Not a replacement—an additional AOD mode
Min Mode isn’t meant to replace the classic AOD. It uses the same ultra-low-power display state, meaning restricted brightness, refresh rate, and color depth. The twist: instead of the usual clock and notification badges, Min Mode can show a full-screen application surface that conforms to AOD constraints. Typically, Android shows the regular AOD when the screen times out; if a compatible app requests it, the system can transition into Min Mode instead.
How apps hook into Min Mode
Android Authority’s deep dive suggests the feature is application-aware:
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Apps can designate a
MinModeActivityin their AndroidManifest. -
They register and communicate with an exported
MinModeProviderinside SystemUI to request activation. -
The system evaluates which app/activity was in use before the screen turned off and which component the app wants displayed when AOD kicks in.
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To mitigate burn-in, the system shifts every pixel by one position every 60 seconds.
In practice, Min Mode looks like a formal mechanism for persistent live activities on Android—letting apps present glanceable, battery-efficient experiences while the device idles.
Why this matters: richer AOD without wrecking your battery
Persistent navigation, workouts, timers, or delivery tracking typically hammer batteries because they keep the display, radios, and location services awake. Min Mode promises AOD-compliant surfaces: stripped back, monochrome-friendly, and tuned for low refresh/brightness—precisely the conditions that stretch runtime instead of shrinking it.
Google Maps may be first in line
Android Authority reports early signs that Google Maps is preparing a minimalist power-saving mode aligned with Min Mode:
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An activity named
com.google.android.apps.gmm.features.minmode.MinModeActivityappears in the Maps code. -
Maps checks whether AOD Min Mode is enabled at the system level.
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A user-facing string indicates the feature can’t run in landscape, consistent with AOD’s portrait limitation.
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An onboarding illustration suggests activation via the power button, which squares with an AOD-style invocation.
There’s no public documentation yet tying Maps’ new mode to Min Mode, but the naming, checks, and constraints make the connection hard to ignore.
Timing: likely Android 17, not 16 QPR3
Min Mode looks like a platform-level capability that other developers could adopt, implying Google will expose it via new APIs. Because Android 16 QPR3 isn’t expected to add developer APIs, Android 17 is the most plausible release window. Android Authority notes the feature is currently disabled at a system level, reinforcing the “not ready until next year” expectation.
The bigger picture
If Min Mode ships as described, Android’s AOD could evolve from a passive glance screen into a live, app-driven canvas—without abandoning the low-power ethos that makes AOD viable. Expect early Google apps (Maps, perhaps Clock, Fitness, or Now Playing) to lead the charge, with third-party devs following once the APIs land.
