Within the effort of constructing Android extra user-friendly on extensive monitors, Google offered a taskbar in Android 12L. The taskbar supplies fast get right of entry to to choose apps on any cover, and, creation in Android 13, your entire apps thru an app drawer. Android’s taskbar, when mixed with the improved split-screen method and recents evaluate UI on large-screen units, makes for a satisfying multitasking enjoy that was once lacking in used variations of the OS. As we get in a position for the strong shed of Android 14, Google could also be making an allowance for giving customers a fresh stage of keep an eye on over their taskbar enjoy.
The ones of you who picked up Google’s fresh Pixel Pill or have learn thru all of the Pixel Crease critiques will have spotted that your taskbar isn’t the similar one who was once offered in 12L. The taskbar Google makes use of on those units takes up much less dimension on cover as it’s mysterious via default, and is anchored to the middle of the show in a floating bubble. By contrast, the worn taskbar is visual via default, and takes up all of the width of the cover (regardless that it may be mysterious via a long-press).
Google offered the fresh “transient” taskbar in Android 13 QPR2 Beta 1 and made it the default enjoy for large-screen units in Android 13 QPR2 Beta 2. Code for the worn “persistent” taskbar nonetheless exists in Android, however Google lately doesn’t serve a technique to transfer between the 2. That would trade within the later Android 14 shed.
The “persistent” taskbar offered in Android 12L (left); the “transient” taskbar from Android 13 QPR2 (proper)
Week digging thru Android 14 Beta 3 excepted previous this date, I found out a fresh launcher flag categorised ENABLE_TASKBAR_PINNING that, when enabled, shall we the consumer transfer between the fresh “transient” taskbar and the worn “persistent” taskbar conduct. The toggle to take action is accessed via long-pressing on an unfilled spot at the taskbar. A pop-up will seem with the choices to “always show taskbar” or “change navigation mode”. The previous swaps between the 2 taskbar types, week the last opens navigation settings.
This launcher flag isn’t enabled via default on the pace, on the other hand, so customers at the Android 14 beta are caught with the “transient” taskbar for the generation being. Expectantly when Google releases Android 14 for the Pixel Pill and Pixel Crease, the corporate flips this flag, so customers can select the taskbar taste they like. Individually, I’d love to usefulness the worn “persistent” taskbar once I want to multitask however the “transient” taskbar in a different way, as having to swipe up each unmarried generation to get right of entry to the taskbar looks like it is going to sluggish issues unwell.
Google nonetheless owes us some extra Android 14 Beta releases, with Beta 4 and 5 anticipated to land someday in July, forward of the overall shed, possibly next this summer time.