Listed below are some new options of the Pixel Launcher in Android 15

The app that powers your telephone’s dwelling display known as a launcher, and because of Android’s customizability, there are lots of Android dwelling display launchers from which to decide on. Most individuals persist with the default dwelling display launcher, which within the case of Google’s Pixel telephones known as the Pixel Launcher. The Pixel Launcher might not be as customizable as, say, Nova Launcher, but it surely continues so as to add new options with each Android launch. The upcoming Android 15 replace can be no exception, as the brand new launch is getting ready to tweak a number of elements of the app launching expertise.

For starters, Google is getting ready to tweak the animation that performs whenever you swipe up on an app to return to the house display. The brand new animation is quicker, springier, and higher highlights the wallpaper zoom impact. Right here’s a display recording that compares the swipe-to-home animation in Android 14 versus Android 15 Beta 1.

Subsequent, the Pixel Launcher is getting ready to enhance its widget suggestions in Android 15. At the moment, whenever you open the widget selector within the Pixel Launcher, a seemingly random widget will seem on the high of the web page. There’s no actual rationalization for why the Pixel Launcher chooses to suggest a selected widget, however fortunately with the brand new advice system, you’ll have extra suggestions to select from. Plus, the suggestions are categorized by sort, making it simpler to discover a widget that fits your property display wants.

In my testing, I noticed three advice classes: Necessities, Social, and Leisure. Nonetheless, a fast look by way of the Pixel Launcher’s code reveals 5 different classes that may seem, together with Well being & health, Information & magazines, Recommended for you, Your Chill Zone, and Climate. Apparently, some widgets from third-party apps had been beneficial to me, which suggests the Pixel Launcher could also be using some algorithmic method to suggestions as an alternative of simply utilizing a hardcoded record.

One other widget-related enchancment in Android 15 is the addition of a “+ Add” button within the Pixel Launcher’s widget selector. This button makes it barely simpler so as to add a widget to the house display, as you’ll now not should press and maintain after which drag the widget. As an alternative, you may simply faucet “+ Add,” and the Pixel Launcher will robotically add your alternative of widget to an empty spot on the house display.

Lastly, the Pixel Launcher in Android 15 can also be getting ready to enhance the recents display UI. The recents display, in case you aren’t conscious, is definitely powered by a module throughout the system launcher app referred to as QuickStep. The recents display in Android 14 consists of a horizontal carousel of just lately opened apps. That isn’t altering in Android 15, however what’s altering is the tactic to entry the menu the place the buttons to open the app data web page, enter cut up display mode, and pause an app are positioned.

In Android 14, this menu is accessed by long-pressing on an app’s icon within the recents display. This might not be apparent to some customers, inflicting them to overlook these shortcuts completely. Android 15 would possibly repair that by including a small tablet close to the highest of every app within the recents display. This tablet accommodates the app’s icon, identify, and a dropdown arrow that opens the aforementioned menu. This transformation ought to hopefully make these buttons extra simply discoverable.

The entire adjustments to the Pixel Launcher that I documented on this article aren’t reside but in Android 15 beta 1. To be able to present them off, I needed to allow some flags manually. Thus, it’s doable a number of of those adjustments received’t be launched within the steady model of Android 15, which can drop later this yr. Nonetheless, these refined adjustments enhance the app launching expertise, so I don’t see why they received’t be rolled out. Because the Pixel Launcher is barely shipped on Google’s personal Pixel units, it’s unclear what number of of those adjustments will make their strategy to the inventory launcher in AOSP, so it stays to be seen whether or not units from different OEMs will get any of those adjustments of their respective Android 15 updates.