Android Q gesture navigation does not support custom docking applications at launch.

Today, Google launches Android Q beta 5, the fifth of six beta versions before the final version of Android Q, version 10. Google has already finalized the Android Q APIs in Beta 4, which remains- he for this version? Apparently, a lot of changes have been made to gesture navigation.

As a reminder, with Android Q, Google introduces a brand new navigation system "fully gestural", which avoids the traditional three-button navigation system of Android for a system of gestures to trigger the three functions (Back, Home and Recent Apps). slips. The new navigation system saves a lot of space, with only a transparent movement bar at the bottom of the screen, like on an iPhone X.

However, three features do not cover all the features of the old three-button bar. You can also long press the home button to call the Google Assistant. In previous versions, this feature was not accessible to the gesture navigation system. For beta 5, Google introduces a new gesture for the Google assistant: slide your finger up. The Google assistant opens by dragging the slider from one of the lower corners of the screen, which means that you 'll notice some "handles" that serve as "s". visual abundance that we continue to adjust. "

We are just working from a blog post at the moment, so we have no screenshots, but XDA has been able to mark an earlier version and show the new gesture of l & # 39; wizard. For the moment, two "L" shaped indicators sometimes appear in the lower corners of the screen. I thought it was taking a screenshot early, but it's just for the Google Assistant.

Google also changes the operating mode of the Android Q navigation panel. The back gesture of Android Q is to slide to the side of the screen. In addition, the opening of the navigation panel usually consisted of sliding to the side of the screen. they must change. At Google I / O, Google gave several lectures explaining the new behavior of the navigation panel, indicating that it would consume the first scan from the side of the screen and that a second scan would trigger a return. Only a few months after the I / O, the behavior changes again: just press the side of the screen so that the navigation drawer gets out of the side of the screen, where it can to be open.

Behavior The behavior of the drawer changes. Users will be able to open the drawer by taking a look at it and then sliding. The big advantage is that it works with existing applications with "old" versions of DrawerLayout. pic.twitter.com/WVyOzQFzHO

– Chris Banes (@chrisbanes) July 2, 2019

The way developers can book parts of the gesture navigation area is also change.

The fact that Google changes gesture navigation behavior after Google I / O, after he has already published a lot of docs and videos on how everything is supposed to work, is a bit alarming. Google is already committed to standardizing the Android Q implementation of gesture navigation to the point where builders will no longer be allowed to create their own alternative forms of gesture navigation. As Google has explained to I / O, applications need to design their user interface based on the behavior of gesture navigation, and require developers to deal with seven or eight different gesture navigation systems from major manufacturers would require too much working.

Forcing everyone to use Google's gesture navigation takes a lot of responsibility, and Google really needs to fully understand the implementation of Android gesture navigation Q. Still, we still have one last beta version , and things are still changing, and it seems that Google will become aware of it.

For some aspects of gesture navigation, Google is already moving the goal posts for the launch deadline of Android Q.

Gesture navigation does not support third-party home screens at launch

One of the best features of Android is the ability to customize the home screen. You can install a multitude of third party launchers with a multitude of options, some representing a normal home screen layout with experienced user settings, and others redefining completely the home screen experience. Today, with Android Q Beta 5, Google announces that Android Q gesture navigation will not work with the third party home screens at launch.

"Custom launchers are another area in which we have heard comments and we continue to work on issues, especially with regard to stability and recent ones." Google writes in his blog post. "Beginning with Beta 6, we'll return to 3-button navigation when they use a custom launcher by default, and we'll treat the remaining issues in a post-launch update so these users can switch to gesture navigation." with our device manufacturer partners to include the delivery or update to Android Q in their devices. In the meantime, please continue to share your feedback. "

The Android Q gesture navigation system has always had problems with third-party launchers, but it was easy to reduce chalk problems until "it's a beta" and the problems that come with it. The current gesture navigation system does not even work very well with the Google launcher! The news that the launch program bugs will not be fixed in time for the final launch of Android Q is a real bomb, especially since Google devotes a lot of effort to the compatibility of developers .

Compare this Launcher Incompatibility Announcement with the Implementation of Android Storage Access Protections Q. Limited storage potentially damaging Android applications, Google has announced with Beta 1 in March. He received a ton of comments from developers for a few months and later announced that the mandatory limited storage would be rolled over to the Android R version next year. On the other hand, the developers had very little time to take care of the gesture navigation, which, as we already indicated, is still being modified.

Starting with Beta 4, the use of gesture navigation with a third-party launcher did not work at all. The default values ​​of the home screen were often not followed, and if the default values ​​of your home screen was honored, the system would crash again and again. Since May, when gesture navigation has been abandoned for everyone, we've seen rival developers of home screens. come together and coordinate ranking errors to make sure that Google fixes everything before launch, but apparently there is not enough time. Google would not give me a timeline for the resolution of all these problems after the launch of Q.

The beta 5 is available today for Pixel devices. We still have a beta next month before the final launch of Android Q, which will take place in the third quarter. (Although Google, if you want to push that date back a bit and make the launchers work, it'll probably work!) The blog post also states that the Android engineering team will host a Reddit AMA on androiddev later this month. so be sure to save your burning questions.