Android 15’s revamped desktop mode could run directly on tablets: Here’s a first look
Android’s desktop mode might not be limited to external displays
JoriPress
- We discovered that Android 15’s hidden desktop mode can actually run on-device on tablets.
- By tapping the new “desktop” button in the recents screen, you can send apps to the desktop mode launcher.
- While in this launcher, you can freely launch one or more apps in freeform windows, resize them, snap them to the sides, and more.
With how powerful Android tablets have become, many people have been looking for ways to turn them into their only PC while on the go. Unfortunately, stock Android is still way behind desktop operating systems when it comes to robust multitasking and windowing features, but Google is thankfully starting to address Android’s deficiencies in these areas. While developing Android 15, for example, Google has quietly revamped Android’s built-in desktop mode with new windowing options. In its original inception, Android’s desktop mode was fairly simplistic and was only activated when you connected your device to an external display, but while mucking around with the latest in-development version of the feature, we discovered that it can now run directly on tablets, too.
For a bit of context, Android first added a desktop mode in 2019’s Android 10 release, but it was really barebones. While you could launch apps in freeform windows, you couldn’t do many basic things like snap windows to the sides or minimize them to the taskbar. This desktop mode existed solely to help developers test their apps in multi-display scenarios; it was never intended to be activated by users, hence why it was locked behind a developer option.
