One of the most popular tweaks offered by many third-party Android launchers/home screen replacements looks like it might be coming to Google’s Pixels. According to a report by the folks at XDA Developers, the Pixel Launcher in Android Q Beta 5 may include a gesture that allows swiping down to expand the notification shade from anywhere on the homescreen.
If you’ve used the immensely popular Nova Launcher, then you’re probably familiar with the concept. If not, just imagine being able to swipe down from anywhere on your homescreen to pull down the notification shade instead of having to start at the top of your screen, as usual. There’s really not much more to it than that, but given the popularity of the feature in third-party launchers, it’s likely to be a welcome addition.
Unlike most third-party launchers, it doesn’t wait until the gesture is complete to begin the pull-down animation, either. This smoothly tracks your finger while it moves (though the video doesn’t do the best job of showing that off).
It’s possible that Beta 5 could land tomorrow (Google is known for pushing out these updates on Wednesdays), so we might all have more details about this and other features hiding in Beta 5 soon.
- Source:
- XDA Developers