In the present day, we’re asserting a developer preview that gives you with an early alternative to expertise and check desktop windowing.
– Francesco Romano – Developer Relations Engineer on Android, and Fahd Imtiaz – Product Supervisor, Android Developer, September 2024
To empower pill customers to get extra executed, Google is enhancing free-form windowing, permitting customers to run a number of apps concurrently and resize home windows for optimum multitasking. “In the present day, we’re excited to share that desktop windowing on Android tablets is out there in developer preview”, the weblog post reads.That is nice information, as I’ve all the time been bugged by the shortage of pill app window look.
You’ll be able to strive it out on Pixel Tablet earlier than it’s launched to AOSP (Android Open Supply Mission) extra broadly. “The preview is out there at the moment”, Google says.
To provide it a strive, it is best to replace your Pixel Pill to the most recent Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 launch to check out desktop windowing. Should you don’t have a Pixel Pill obtainable, you should use the Pixel Pill emulator in Android Studio Preview. Choose the Android 15.0 (Google APIs Pill) goal. After organising your system, allow the “Freeform home windows” choice in Developer choices to check the desktop windowing options and see how your app performs on this surroundings.
For app builders, the idea of Android apps working in free-form home windows has already been launched by platforms like Samsung DeX and ChromeOS. Updating apps to assist adaptive layouts, improved multitasking, and versatile enter dealing with ensures they carry out nicely on massive screens all through the Android ecosystem.
By optimizing apps for desktop windowing on the Pixel Pill, builders not solely improve the consumer expertise on that system but in addition put together their apps for future use throughout the broader Android ecosystem, the place freeform windowing will turn out to be extra frequent. The probabilities created by desktop windowing are thrilling, and builders are inspired to adapt their apps to ship a extra superior consumer expertise.
What’s desktop windowing?
Desktop windowing permits customers to run a number of apps without delay and resize home windows, providing a extra versatile, desktop-like expertise on Android tablets. With a refreshed System UI and new APIs, this function enhances productiveness by making a seamless multitasking surroundings.
- Customers can run a number of apps side-by-side, concurrently
- Taskbar is mounted and reveals the working apps, customers can pin apps for fast entry
- New header bar with window controls on the prime of every window which apps can customise
By default, apps open in full display screen on Android tablets. To modify an app to desktop windowing mode on the Pixel Pill, press and maintain the window deal with on the prime middle of the display screen, then drag it inside the UI.As soon as in desktop mode, any apps launched afterward will open in desktop home windows. Alternatively, desktop windowing might be enabled by the menu that seems when tapping the window deal with or by utilizing the keyboard shortcut (meta key + Ctrl + Down).
To exit desktop windowing and return to full display screen, shut all energetic home windows or drag the window deal with to the highest of the display screen. You too can use the keyboard shortcut (meta + H) to modify again to full display screen mode.
To return to desktop mode, transfer a full display screen app to the desktop house utilizing the strategies talked about, or faucet the desktop tile within the Recents display screen.
For app builders
For app builders, desktop windowing on Android tablets affords new alternatives, particularly for apps targeted on productiveness and multitasking. It permits customers to resize and transfer a number of app home windows, making duties like evaluating paperwork or writing emails whereas referencing info simpler.
To reap the benefits of this, builders ought to optimize their apps for pill screens. In case your app is already optimized for giant screens, minimal changes are wanted. If not, updating it to deal with completely different display screen sizes and orientations turns into necessary.
Key issues to deal with:
- Freeform resizing: Apps might be resized to completely different dimensions, so the format ought to adapt to numerous window sizes.
- Multitasking: Apps ought to work nicely when a number of home windows are open and assist drag-and-drop actions between apps.
- Multi-instance assist: Apps can run in a number of cases side-by-side, which is beneficial for issues like engaged on a number of paperwork without delay.
General, desktop windowing makes tablets extra environment friendly for multitasking, and optimizing for it could enhance the consumer expertise.
