Google Enhances Android Desktop Mode with New Features

Google is reportedly enhancing the Android operating system to offer a desktop-like experience for tablets, aiming to compete with platforms like Apple’s iPad.

In September, it launched a desktop windowing feature in the Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 release, allowing users to manage apps in free-form windows. Recent developments indicate that Google is adding functionalities such as window minimization and the ability to launch multiple instances of the same app in Desktop Mode on Android.

🖥️ Google preps new features for Android desktop windowing, including a minimize button

More improvements are coming to Android's desktop windowing mode 👇https://t.co/5F2jRfPlAl

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) November 26, 2024

Mishaal Rahman from Android Authority reported on the upcoming features for Android’s Desktop Mode. The report suggests Google is integrating a new minimize option into the header bar. Users are expected to be able to minimize a window with a tap and later maximize it from the taskbar, mimicking traditional desktop interactions.

Additionally, Google may introduce a feature that allows opening new windows. As a Google blog post referenced, this feature would enable developers to set a multi-instance property. This setting would allow an app to launch in multiple instances, facilitating multitasking when the desktop windowing feature is active.

Desktop windowing is now available in developer preview for Android tablets!

Learn how to optimize your apps to support adaptive layouts, robust multitasking, and adaptive inputs.

Read the blog → https://t.co/3GrONXTY9I pic.twitter.com/IQf99sREnX

— Android Developers (@AndroidDev) September 12, 2024

However, these features are not currently available in the latest Android builds. The publication activated them while exploring the Android 15 QPR2 Beta 1 release. The report also hints at a forthcoming feature for Chrome, detailed in Google’s blog but not yet live—a drag functionality that would allow users to open a new window by dragging a tab. Currently, this feature remains accessible only behind a Chrome flag.