Android's new cross-device hub is starting to roll out — just in time for Googlebooks

Googlebooks aren’t going to be laptops meant to exist on their own, and the more interesting part promises to be what happens when you put one next to your Android phone. Google has spent months laying that groundwork, from Android 17’s Continue On task handoff to Play Services’ hooks for Googlebook setup and experiments that could turn your phone into a laptop trackpad. Now, one of the clearest pieces of that cross-device puzzle is starting to appear on phones.

We’ve spotted a new “Continue activity” section rolling out through Google Play Services on a Pixel 9 running stable Android 17. It sits inside the existing Cross-device services menu alongside Call casting and Internet sharing, promising to let you “continue tasks and access apps, media, and notifications across your devices.”

Opening the menu reveals four controls: Tasks, Apps, Notifications, and Files & media sharing. Each can be enabled independently. Turning the feature on also triggers a Google permission sheet for Cross-device services, requesting access to mirror the screen and stream apps, handle notifications, and access photos and media.

The Tasks toggle appears to be the user-facing home for Continue On, which Google introduced with Android 17. Continue On lets supported apps hand off an activity from one Android device to another while preserving where you left off. Google initially demonstrated it between phones and tablets, but the broader Continue activity menu makes even more sense with laptops entering the mix.

Googlebook pre-orders open September 21, putting this rollout right on the doorstep of Google’s new Android-based laptop push.

We don’t yet know how widely Continue activity is rolling out, and server-side Play Services features often arrive gradually. Still, seeing the complete menu appear on a stable Android 17 phone suggests Google is switching on more of the plumbing needed to make Android phones, tablets, and Googlebooks feel like parts of the same system.