A recent report by XDA developers shows that a new swipe gesture has replaced the familiar “back” button on a developer preview of Android Q. It looks like soon a simple swipe from right to left will take us back to the previous screen. Such addition will surely improve the overall user experience, complementing the already existing gestures.
Android Pie replaced navigation buttons with gestures
The present set of gestures that replaced the well-known navigation buttons “home”, “back” and “recents” was introduced by Google on Android Pie. The three buttons are no longer available for users, instead we have just one multifunctional home key, with the addition of the back button is some cases.
One of the gestures, a swipe up, gives us an overview screen with the recent apps, suggested apps and a search bar. Another swipe up sends us to the full launcher, where we can see all apps installed on our device.
Swipe left will replace the “back” button
In order to access “recents”, users of Android Pie must use a swipe right gesture, and soon, starting with Android Q, we will be able to move back one screen by swiping in the opposite direction.
The addition of the “back” gesture is not a sure thing, as we can only preview an early build of Android Q. There is always the possibility that Google will decide to further delay the introduction of this feature. Still, we fully expect to see this gesture on the upcoming Android Q, as many users requested such addition from Google.
One feature that is often reported in context of Android Q is the dark mode option, a highly anticipated option that can significantly extend the battery life of our device once we switch to darker colors.
Frances might be just at the beginning of her career, but after attending a technical school, she has a fresh perspective on today’s technology. She contributes to the site with tech news.
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