Google releases the second Android Q Beta. With the first version, we learned that support for foldable smartphones would be brought by Android Q, as well as better privacy and permissions controls, along with some other features. However, our devices will have to wait a while until they benefit from the Android Q Beta 2, but promises written by Google in their release blog post saying that “bug fixes, optimizations, and API updates” will be introduced, along with a great emulator for foldable and a crazy new multitasking feature.
Android is a multitasking lover, and we have seen that from the floating windows and split screens, along with a hidden desktop mode in the Android Q Beta 1. A new multitasking feature will be introduced by Android Q Beta 2, and its name is Bubbles. Bubbles allow the user to minimize an app into a little circle which will float around on the screen above all your other apps.
Android Q Beta 2 rolled out with the new Bubbles multitasking feature
A small UI will be opened if you tap on a bubble. The only demo showed by Google is of the one for a messaging app. A contact can be found in each bubble, and a small chat UI is showed if you tap on the bubble. If you did not forget Facebook’s “Chat Head” UI for Messenger, Bubbles is not different from that, but it is built into the OS.
Google said that Bubbles could be used in a lot of ways, so it is helpful for everybody. “Bubbles are great for messaging because they let users keep important conversations within easy reach. They also provide a convenient view over ongoing tasks and updates, like phone calls or arrival times. They can provide quick access to portable UI, like notes or translations, and can be visual reminders of tasks too.”
