- Android 17 Beta 2 starts implementing support for restricting how Thunderbolt or USB4 devices access system memory.
- Just like on Chrome OS, that access could be limited by default, and require users to specifically grant it.
- Android’s Advanced Protection Mode may restrict your ability to override the limitation.
Android is already a lot more than just a mobile OS, and has found success in the home through Android TV. But the platform’s expansion onto new device types is really only just getting started, and maybe the most exciting area for its expansion now is onto desktop and laptop computers. Aluminium OS teases a new Android-powered way for us to compute, and Pixel users everywhere are already trying out Android’s Desktop Mode. We’re picking up a new whiff of Android’s increasing desktop-ification as we continue to dig through all the changes present in Android 17 Beta 2.
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Meeting the needs of desktop computer users requires supporting a lot more hardware than a phone alone might need to — and that includes connectivity options, as well. High-speed wired interfaces are still king, and in Android 17 Beta 2 we can see Google working on Android support for something Chromebooks already offer: The ability to limit how Thunderbolt or USB4 devices access system memory.
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