The Android taskbar could soon be upgraded to show recent apps

[phillynews215]

• The Android taskbar may soon be able to show the two most recently used apps.
• Currently, the taskbar shows up to 6 pinned apps and 2 suggested apps.
• Code in the latest Android 15 QPR1 beta replaces app suggestions with recent apps.

Android tablets are usually large enough to comfortably fit multiple apps on screen, which is why the Android taskbar was introduced a few years back to speed up the process of launching new apps or switching between them. Google now wants to make multitasking even faster on Android tablets by upgrading the taskbar to show recently used apps.

Google first introduced a taskbar in 2022’s Android 12L release. The original taskbar was initially a large bar that sat persistently at the bottom and spanned the entire width of the screen. To make it take up less space on book-style foldables, Google hid the taskbar by default starting in 2023’s Android 13 QPR2. The newer taskbar is temporarily revealed by swiping up on the gesture navigation handle, earning it the name “transient taskbar.” With the release of Android 15, Google added a way to switch between the older “persistent” taskbar and the newer “transient” taskbar, optimizing the experience for both book-style foldables and tablets.




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