Today, on Android 11, you can use the split screen to open two apps on your device at the same time. However, the process is a little strange and has not kept pace with the new phone formats. For Android 12, Google is working on a revamped version of the split screen called “App Pairs”.
To use two apps side by side on Android today, you need to open an app and then activate the split screen for that app through the Recents view. This hides most of the app while the rest of the phone opens to the home screen so you can choose a second app. At that point, your first application is now effectively fixed to the top of the screen, while the bottom works normally.
As phone screens got bigger and new categories of Androids, such as folding and dual-screen phones, arrived, Android’s integrated split-screen features didn’t keep pace. To help with this, companies like Samsung, LG and Microsoft have created their own alternative split screen features. For example, Microsoft Surface Duo includes the idea of “application groups”, which are one-touch shortcuts that open two specific applications, one on each screen.
According to the information displayed by 9to5Google, Google is working to bring about a complete renovation of the split screen system on Android 12 with a new feature called “Application Pairs”. Where the current split-screen system effectively “fixes” an application, the Android 12 application pair system will group two applications together as a “task”.
What this means is that you will be able to choose two of your recently opened applications to become a pair. Once paired, you should be able to easily switch to a single different app and then switch back to the pair you created.
To help illustrate the differences between Android’s current split-screen feature and our understanding of application pairs, we’ve created a model of how the resource could Look. On the left, you’ll see how recent apps view works with the split screen today, only allowing you to select a new app for the bottom of the screen. On the right, you will see our model, showing that the recent view treats the pair as a joint activity.
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This is a model!
Just like the split screen today, the Android 12 App Pairs system will offer a divider to allow you to adjust how much of the screen is occupied by each application. In fact, this divider is gaining a little more functionality, allowing you to quickly switch the positions of your two applications by double tapping it.
If the name “App Pair” sounds familiar, it is because a feature with the same name has been around on Samsung’s top phones for a few years. On these Galaxy phones, application pairs are shortcuts to quickly open two applications in Samsung’s Multi Window mode. It remains to be seen whether the Android 12 application pairs will also allow these types of shortcuts to be easily accessible.
The first Android 11 Developer Preview arrived in mid-February last year. Assuming that Android 12 has a similar schedule, we may be just a few weeks away from seeing the pairs of apps in action. However, Android 12 will still be in development even months after the first preview and, therefore, is subject to change, which means that it is possible that pairs of applications will simply not be released.
Dylan Roussel contributed to this article
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