Google is finally giving Pixel users more control over one of the most frequently used parts of Android. The latest Android 17 QPR2 beta adds a new Layout editor for Quick Settings, allowing users to change the order of its main sections instead of being stuck with Google’s default arrangement. The feature also appeared in the latest Android Canary build, suggesting Google moved it fairly quickly from testing to the QPR2 beta.
There are six layouts to choose from
The new option appears after opening Quick Settings and tapping the pencil icon. A new Layout tab at the bottom lets users drag and reorder three major components: the brightness bar, Quick Settings tiles, and media player.
There are currently six possible combinations, covering every possible ordering of those three elements. Users can therefore put the brightness bar first, followed by tiles and the media player, or move the media player to the top and push the other two sections below it. The catch is that Google doesn’t let users remove any of these three components entirely.
That makes this less of a complete Quick Settings redesign and more of a simple but useful customization option. Still, it addresses something that has bothered Pixel users for years: being able to rearrange individual tiles was useful, but users couldn’t decide how the entire panel was structured.
Google is slowly loosening the Quick Settings reins
The new Layout editor fits into Google’s broader Android 17 push to make Quick Settings more flexible, following the Material 3 Expressive redesign and resizable tiles. It also builds on other Quick Settings changes we’ve covered, including dual shade fixes and simpler network controls. Additionally, Android 17 has already brought changes to HDR video, made it easier to switch from iPhone to Android, and plenty of smaller quality-of-life features, but the Quick Settings editor is the kind of change users will actually interact with every day.
Of course, Android 17 is still in beta, and the final set of features could change before its expected December release, but if this survives, Pixel users will finally have a little more say in how one of Android’s most frequently used interfaces works.
