Google preps new features for Android desktop windowing, including a minimi
 

• Google is preparing a few new features for Android’s desktop windowing mode, including buttons to minimize apps or open them in a new window.
• Desktop windowing was first introduced in Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 for large screen devices, but it hasn’t seen many improvements yet.
• However, one improvement was quietly made, which is the ability to choose how web links are opened.

It’s long overdue, but Android is finally getting proper desktop windowing support in the first quarterly release of Android 15. Google announced Android’s new desktop windowing mode a little over two months ago, and it’s coming to tablets with next week’s likely Android 15 QPR1 release. The initial version of desktop windowing will be missing some basic features such as a minimize button, but thankfully, that will be coming in a future version of the feature.

In case you missed the news, Google introduced desktop windowing in September’s Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 release for the Pixel Tablet. Desktop windowing lets you run multiple apps simultaneously in freeform windows that you can resize just like on conventional desktop platforms. When desktop windowing is active, the taskbar’s position is pinned to the bottom and shows running apps, as well as apps you’ve pinned. Each app window has a header bar that houses various window controls, which currently includes a dropdown menu to change the windowing mode, a button to maximize the window, and a button to close the window.




More...