Android 15 could bring a new desktop mode

Most people use Android on their smartphones, so there’s not much need to expect a desktop-like experience from the operating system. However, as smartphones and tablets become more capable,  it’s much more of a possibility to use them as desktop computers. Well, as discovered by Mishaal Rahman, Android 15 may bring a new desktop mode.

Currently, Android does have a desktop mode. However, it’s very limited. It basically plays the role of putting Android apps on a bloated screen. However, the apps never truly utilize the added screen space. Also, app windows lacked proper top bars like you would see on macOS or Windows. So, running multiple apps in Windows mode didn’t really yield many benefits.

Android 15 could bring a new desktop mode

Right now, people are digging into the Android 15 developer preview and the Android 14 QPR 3 beta 2.1 update. The latter is where Rahman discovered this new desktop mode for Android 15. After doing something, he was able to find that Google hadn’t forgotten about Android’s desktop mode.

As seen in the video above, it’s very easy to switch an app from full-screen to windowed mode. When in full-screen mode, it’s a little handle up top that will give you the option between popping it out into a window or moving it over to split-screen mode.

When in windowed mode, you will see a top bar on the app. The top bar will show the app icon and name. Right next to the name, you will see a downward-facing karat that will give the option to make a full-screen or split-screen.

On the right side of the top bar, you will see the option to make the app almost full-screen. It will fill the entire screen, but it will stop at the status bar, and it will leave a little bit of room at the bottom. Next to that button, you will see the X button to exit the window.

What’s neat about these windows is the fact that you can freely resize them. It looks like you can resize them with great precision.

At this point, it’s hard to tell if Google will release this new desktop mode in the final build of Android 15. We’re going to have to wait and see.