Say what you will about Apple, but its fans love the design and layout of its software. Maybe that’s why Apple’s influence seems to be creeping over into other areas and even onto Android tablets. The first time Google added a taskbar to any Android devices was back in 2022, with Android 12L.
The idea was sound, but the implementation left a bit to be desired — so when foldables and book-style tablets came along, Google hid the taskbar by default, accessible with a swipe up. Now a discovery in the code for Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 suggests another change might be on the way.
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Android Authority’s Mishall Rahman discovered a feature that changes the taskbar’s suggested apps to the most recently used ones. Currently, Android can show up to eight apps at a time on the taskbar: six pinned apps, and two suggested ones.
An internal algorithm determines which apps you’re shown, so gaining the ability to switch between suggested and most used would offer a major time-saving perk to users. The only other way to access recently used apps is to manually search for them.
If and when will this feature be released?
Source: Samsung
As Rahman points out, Google hasn’t so much as hinted that this feature exists. It might be an internal feature used for testing, but if Google does decide to take it public, we can’t imagine anyone would be upset.
Other manufacturers have already taken this step with their own operating systems. Both OnePlus and Samsung spotlight recently used apps on devices like the OnePlus Open or the Galaxy Z Fold, but if Google makes this taskbar part of the base Android feature set, it would make things a lot more convenient for other Android tablets that haven’t made this change on their own.
Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 introduces a lot of other useful features, including fixes for bugs, a keyboard quick-switching feature, lock screen widgets, and so much more. The features currently in beta are likely to be part of Android 15’s first major update in December of this year, so cross your fingers. With any luck, Google will add this upgrade taskbar.
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