Android P release date could bring an awesome iPhone feature to your smartphone
MORE DETAILS about the features included in Android P have emerged, as the worldwide release date for the operating system update approaches.
Android P looks set to include a number of iPhone X-inspired software features
Android P looks set to include a number of iPhone X-inspired features.
Google has already revealed the latest version of its mobile operating system will include support for notched displays.
An increasing number of Android manufacturers are using a small cut-out, or notch, to house the front-facing camera, speaker grill, and ambient light and proximity sensors at the top of their edge-to-edge displays.
Notches will be supported system-wide in the next Android release, with notification icons, shifted to the side to make way for the cut-out.
But that won’t be the only iPhone X-inspired feature in the operating system, which is already available in a very early beta version.
Android P is available in beta right now, but won’t launch to consumers until summer
Technology blog 9to5Google has unearthed a Google developer blog post which included an Android P screenshot with a very different set of navigation buttons.
Instead of the three buttons (back, home, and multitasking) which have been present in the Android operating system for years, the all-new Android P appears to include a back button and an iPhone X-style strip.
In the Android P screenshot, which has since been cropped to remove the navigation buttons, the classic circular home button is a pill-shaped bar.
Google shared an image on its Developer Blog, which revealed a never-before-seen nav bar
Unfortunately, the screenshot doesn’t reveal the functionality included in the simple strip.
However, 9to5Google had previously heard whispers from a reliable source that Google was testing an upward swipe on an iPhone X-style strip to trigger multitasking.
The back button would also purportedly disappear whenever it is not in use, like when users are on the homescreen.
Google tests a number of features and design changes internally which never make it into the final release, so it’s possible this dramatic change won’t make it into the final Android P launch.
However, as manufacturers move towards an all-screen design, it makes sense for Android to try and declutter the interface.