Android 15 is shaping up to be an interesting update as more details about this milestone update have surfaced online. Earlier reports suggested that chat bubbles could soon appear in a mini multitasking dock on tablets. However, now there is news of a hidden development that will allow both smartphone and tablet users to use any app in a floating window. While this may seem minor, it has the potential to change the way we use our recent screens and improve the multitasking experience on smartphones.
Android Authority has reported on a feature currently hidden in the first quarterly platform release of Android 15. Mishaal Rahman, who is known to highlight several upcoming Android updates, has discovered a reference to the “Bubble Anything” feature in the beta 2 release of this version.
Upon activating the feature, Rahman claims the Pixel Launcher adds a new “bubble” button to the context menu, which pops up when you long press on any app on the home screen. Selecting this “bubble” option launches the selected app in a floating bubble (or floating window).
Rahman points out that the previously discovered Bubble Bar feature, which brings all bubbled chat conversations into a small dock (only on tablets), could transform this newly discovered feature into a better multitasking experience on Android devices.
Many Chinese smartphone brands already offer the option to run apps in floating windows, making Google’s recent discovery of support for this feature less thrilling for Android users in the east. In fact, the software on Chinese devices like OnePlus and Realme allows users to share content directly from the app in a floating window, which can be closed or minimized after interaction. However, users can usually only open one or two apps at a time in this floating window mode, depending on the device.
Nonetheless, it’s good to see Google adding support for this on source. It will be interesting to see how this changes the way we use Bubbles on Android, as it could potentially replace the current Recents screen that is used to switch between apps open in the background on smartphones and tablets. Is. App bubbles, (rather than chat bubbles) apparently add another multitasking layer to smartphones, so things can get a little confusing to use. The source also claims that since this is a significant change, Google may reserve it for Android 16 instead of launching it with Android 15. We’ll have to wait to find out what Google has in store for us.
