Android 17 brings some interesting improvements to the Google Pixel phones, and Bubbles may be the most important. Pop-ups and floating windows are nothing new for Android users, but they have never been integrated into Pixel UI. Instead, advanced users had to resort to other operating systems like Samsung’s. A user interface for multitasking with floating windows.
Google was already familiar with floating windows and pop-up views because Android already supported Bubbles for messaging apps. Back then, I found them more annoying than useful. I only turned on chat bubbles by accident and never saw their value. After trying Improved Bubbles experience for apps and multitasking In Android 17, I’m a believer.
Here’s how you can try app bubbles with Android 17 and how the Pixel experience compares to the Galaxy.
App bubbles are a new way to multitask on the Pixel
Google Pixel phones already support multitasking with split-screen views. Open an app, use the app switcher, and tap the app name to reveal a split screen button. Pixel users can then choose a second app to create a split-screen layout. You can drag the slider in the middle to adjust the split ratio.
For traditional Android phones, the 50:50 horizontal split is the default option, but you can drag the slider to the 90:10 position to unlock a new one. Android 16 feature. In this mode, one app takes up most of the phone’s screen, while the secondary app remains grayed out. Tapping the unused secondary app reverses the ratio. It’s a great solution for when you want to use two apps in (mostly) full-screen mode without having to use the app switcher.
Android 16 However, it didn’t offer a better way to use more than two apps at once. Android 17 finally fixes this app bubble issue. You can use up to five at a time, and it’s a convenient way to multitask when normal split-screen mode isn’t enough. Basically, apps remain minimized in bubble form, and tapping on them displays a floating window that allows you to use the app over whatever is on your screen.
I’ve rarely used split-screen views on my Pixel phones for multitasking, but bubbles seem much easier to create and fun to use.
Add up to five apps to an Android 17 bubble group
Bubbles are a core part of the Android 17 experience by default. Surprisingly, you can’t create them the same way you would with a split screen view. Instead, you should create bubbles by physically pressing and holding an app icon on the home screen or in the app drawer. Find the app you want to convert to bubbleand hold it to reveal the context menu.
If the app doesn’t offer a custom shortcut, you’ll see a button with a new icon next to the word Bubble. This icon looks like a minimized window, with an arrow pointing to a point. If the app has custom shortcuts, you’ll only see the bubble icon – not the text. Either way, tapping the Bubble button in an app’s context menu will open the app’s first bubble.
The floating app window takes up most of the screen, and you’ll see all the bubbles in your group above it. If this is your first bubble, you can press the + to add apps you’ve recently used in bubble form. To add an app you haven’t recently used as a bubble, find it in app draweropen the context menuand touch the Bubble button.
You can place up to five in a group of bubbles and switch between them by tapping each bubble icon. They are reordered as you use them, so the most recently used app icons appear first. Tap outside the app bubble and you’ll be taken back to where you were before you opened the bubble. The bubble or group of bubbles will appear as a small icon on your screen that you can move wherever you want.
There are a few ways to close a bubble. If you only want to close one, you can open it, tap the Manage button, and press Discard bubble. To close each bubble in a group, grab the bubble icon and drag it to the Near at the bottom of the screen and then release it.
Foldable users get a different app bubble experience
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If you have a Pixel Fold, Pixel 9 Pro Fold or Pixel 10 Pro foldableThe Bubbles experience will be different when you open the main screen. Here, Bubbles appear as part of the taskbar.. In addition to the taskbar’s docked apps and recently used apps, you’ll see the Bubbles group in the corner. You can tap the app bubble or group to open the floating window, but it will still only take up a small portion of half the screen.
The best thing about the way bubbles work on the internal screen of foldable phones is that they remain completely hidden while you use your device. In minimized form, bubbles, like the rest of the taskbar, are saved when you use other applications. Swiping up from the bottom opens the taskbar and shows your bubbles.
I love Android 17 app bubbles, but there’s a problem
Bubbles are a smart way to multitask smarter on your Pixel devices, especially if you have a Pixel Fold device. However, they do not combine perfectly with floating windows and pop-up views. on Samsung Galaxy phones.
He An 8.5 user interface The experience is more powerful as you can move floating windows anywhere, resize them, or separate them. You can also create floating windows from the app launcher in One UI, while you have to go to the home screen or app drawer in Pixel UI.
So while the Bubbles experience on Android 17 needs to be improved before it can be a true One UI competitor, it’s a big step in the right direction for Pixel users.
Stunning app bubbles
The Google Pixel phones are the first to have Android 17, so if you need a new phone and want to try them out, the Pixel 10 is a good place to start. You can run Android 17 today and will get six more Android OS updates in the future.
