According to a document obtained by XDA display, Android’s next major update of Android 12 will be launched on October 4. Android 12 will be the biggest Android system update in years, and it will bring a complete redesign, a new theme engine, a one-handed mode, and more. Due to the wide range of updates, Google may not have enough time to add one or more planned features and push these features to the next version-Android 12.1, the update may enhance the foldable mobile phone experience.
The Android 12 sc-v2 version is expected to be called Android 12.1 and will be improved on the basis of the features that first appeared in the early developer preview version of Android 12. In Android 12 Developer Preview 2, there is a hidden taskbar feature in Pixel Launcher, which appears at the bottom of the screen where the navigation bar is usually located, and displays a few frequently used applications and recently used applications programs. This taskbar is developed for large-screen devices such as tablets, and the screens of these devices are more suitable for multitasking.
However, the subsequent Android 12 preview version did not see any major improvements to this feature. The reason is that Google will provide this feature in Android 12.1. In addition, Google is developing this taskbar function for another type of large-screen device: a foldable mobile phone. Foldable phones like Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Huawei Mate X2 are basically mini tablets when unfolded. Galaxy Z Fold 3 will even display tablet versions of many apps when unfolded.
If the previous rumors are true, Google Pixel Fold may be as large as Samsung’s foldable phone when unfolded, reaching 7.57 inches. Although it is not possible to directly confirm whether Google is specifically developing Android’s taskbar function for Pixel Fold, it can be confirmed that the foldable device is one of the form factors targeted by this function.
Google’s internal AOSP code base contains several improvements to the currently bare taskbar functionality, including how to launch two applications in split-screen view by dragging an application icon to the side of the screen, and touch and hold to Hide the taskbar (docking) at any time and add your favorite applications/predicted applications to the taskbar. Once set up, the taskbar will stay at the bottom of the screen, but when an application enters the full screen, the taskbar will automatically hide.
This is not the only update in Android 12.1 designed to improve the experience of foldable phones. Various patches in Android 12.1 add a better way to handle the expansion animation in SystemUI. For example, a patch describes the “moving from the center” animation of icons in the taskbar when a foldable phone is expanded. Another patch adds support for the hinge angle sensor in the unfolding animation.
There is also a patch, as long as you deep link activity in Settings, you can open the activity in dual window mode from the system or pre-installed applications. I don’t know if Google intends to release Pixel Fold together with Android 12.1. There are still few revelations about Pixel Fold, and RMC Team will keep an eye on it.
