Summary
- Google’s quarterly Pixel Feature Drops hold its smartphones feeling recent and up to date, and December’s drop could deliver enhancements to the Google Search bar.
- Google is testing a brand new “floating search bar” characteristic in its launcher, permitting customers to have a custom-made search bar nearly in all places on their telephones.
- The new floating search bar shall be closer to your thumb in the app drawer, in the current apps menu, and when typing, making it simpler to make adjustments to queries and use the Pixel Launcher’s enhanced common search.
There’s one thing charming about Google’s ongoing Pixel changelog. Users know that getting a Pixel smartphone means getting the newest Android options first, and that occurs much more regularly now thanks to quarterly Pixel Feature Drops. In a fast-paced tech world, the pleasure round a brand new smartphone rapidly wanes. But the Pixel’s three-month Feature Drop cadence retains your smartphone recent, up to date, and extra useful. On that final level, it seems that December’s Feature Drop will deliver some enhancements to the Google Search bar.
For a while now, Google has made efforts to enhance the Pixel Launcher’s common search characteristic. Recently, Android Authority spotted a flag in the Android 14 QPR1 beta that appears to point out Google could quickly implement a brand new “floating search bar” in varied locations in its launcher. As a consequence, customers could quickly have a comfort-customized search bar nearly in all places on their telephones.
The enhanced common search characteristic got here to market with Android 12, although extra restricted app search options had existed earlier than then. This characteristic might be accessed by tapping the search area at the prime of the Pixel Launcher’s app drawer, however now, Google seems to be experimenting with altering this bar to a floating “G” capsule in the direction of the backside of the app drawer interface, in addition to incorporating an extra search bar at the backside of the current apps interface.
Mishaal Rahman, who additionally contributes right here at Android Police, found a flag in the first QPR1 beta with the “floating search bar” identify. Upon enabling the flag, Rahman seen that the search bar can be now closer to your thumb when typing with keyboard apps like Gboard and SwiftKey. Once this modification goes dwell, in the event you want to make any changes to your question after you begin typing, you will discover the search bar is now immediately above the keyboard’s suggestion strip, permitting you to move the cursor with out overstretching.
The search area sitting simply above the keyboard UI in Rahman’s testing made it clear why Google has chosen “floating search bar” as this characteristic flag’s label — now, you don’t have to attain up the display to discover one thing in certainly one of your apps or alter a search. In the curiosity of full disclosure, the former was technically already doable in the event you enabled the Pixel Launcher’s “Always show keyboard” setting, which is being renamed to “Swipe up to start search” in Android 14, however this technique clearly offers you extra management.
Judging by Rahman’s demo video, this search expertise appears to be a transparent enchancment over the thumb gymnastics we have been doing. It’s seemingly this characteristic shall be unique to Pixel telephones, or a minimum of these with entry to the Pixel Launcher, and we do not count on it any earlier than the December Pixel Feature drop, if it even debuts then. But we definitely will not be at a loss for Google-related information in the meantime with the October 4 Made By Google occasion quick approaching.