Google with Android Pie, introduced new navigation gestures that received mixed reviews. But the company is quick to realize that and is now working on revamped navigation gestures courtesy from a leaked build of Android Q that was obtained last month.
In Android 9 Pie, the 3 button navigation system was replaced by a 2 button system. The recent apps button was removed, and the back button stayed. The home button, however, turned into a gesture pill. With Android Q, there’s a really good chance that Google may kill the dedicated back button. Here’s what we know about gestures in Android Q. Since this information is based on a pre-release build of Android Q, things may change in the final build.
In Android Q, Google is experimenting with two major changes to Android Pie’s gestures; replacing the dedicated back button with a gesture and improving the fluidity of the “last app” transition animation. You also can no longer disable the gestures to return to the vertical card recent apps overview with the three button navigation system.
The experimental gestures in Android Q let you swipe the pill to the left to go back. In Android Q, swiping right on the pill in any app lets you cycle to the previous app. You can cycle through all of your recent apps by continuing to swipe right on the pill, which moves you left on the horizontal recent apps overview list until you reach the last app in the list. If you slide the pill right while on the launcher, you can cycle through all of your apps in one continuous gesture. It is highly unlikely the new gestures will be made available in the Android Q Developer Preview 1 and Google might introduce them at the Google I/O 2019 in May.