Google set to change up Android’s navigation gestures again according to the Android Q Beta

A month ago we reported on some new navigation gestures Google were testing in an alpha build of Android Q. Now that the beta for Android Q has been released further investigation has shown that Google are looking to change the gestures even more.

Mishaal Rahman over at XDA Developers has once again picked through the hidden settings in the Pixel launcher of the Android Q beta, with the help of an XDA developer modifying the Launcher app to show these hidden flags. He has found even more changes to Google’s navigation gestures but they are still only hidden from sight.

Within the developer settings of the new Pixel Launcher there are a few new settings to allow you to alter QuickStep,the name Google have given the gestures and recents in Android Pie and Q.

Mishaal, who is doing some very heavy Android Q lifting over at XDA and is worth a follow on Twitter if you like this sort of stuff, tested the new settings on a “Google Pixel 2 XL running the Android Q beta using the latest Magisk Canary build”. He recorded a video and noticed the following changes:

• Swiping right on the pill results in a smoother animation when changing tasks
• Swiping left on the navigation bar will take you to the most previous task
• Swiping up on the pill still takes you top the home page but there is a new animation
• Swiping up and holding on the pill shows the recent apps overview as per OPPO and OnePlus
• Swiping up on the navigation bar while on the launcher now only shows the app drawer

At this stage it is unclear whether these will be the final gestures Google goes with in Android Q but it is good that Google are continually trying to improve and evolve them – they certainly need to.