Android was originally developed exclusively for the smartphone, which at the time was a new type of device with a touchscreen covering the entire front. Since then, a lot has changed and Android is present in tablets, smartwatches and even in the car with Android Automotive.
Still, the smartphone has always been Google’s priority, and other devices have simply lived the same experience without adapting to their particular needs. Fortunately, things are changing, as demonstrated by the latest evolutions of Android for tablets, which finally take advantage of the unique characteristics of these devices such as the larger screen size.
The new Android 15 feature will be exactly what we’ve been waiting for for years: Windows for Applications inside the Android home screen. In other words, a traditional desktop like the one found on Windows or Mac computers, one of those things that seems incredible to have taken so long.
Google has confirmed the development of the windowed desktop in the Beta 2 version of Android 15 QPR1; So it’s not the version of Android 15 that will arrive in a few weeks, but the update that will arrive months later. With this update, Android tablets will be able to separate each application into its own windowand will allow independent control of each.
Each window will have its own controls to maximize and close the application, with buttons that will be familiar to anyone who has used a computer. Curiously, there is no minimize button, although we can continue to use gestures to switch between applications, in addition to the bottom bar already implemented for tablets with Android 14. Some applications like Chrome can already be integrated into the application. window, displaying the tabs in the top bar as is the case in Windows.
Windows apps on Android 15
Free Android
Images shared by Google demonstrate the great potential of having Windows on Android, especially when multitasking. We can have multiple applications open and visible at the same time, reducing or increasing the size of each one to distribute them as we want on the screen. Thus, we can have, for example, the Chrome browser in the background, with Gmail in the foreground and a “picture in picture” video with a Google Meet video call, all at the same time.
The windows will also allow you to have multiple copies of the same applicationwith different content; for example, a browser that displays different web pages in each window.
App developers will be able to create apps with an adaptive interface, capable of adapting to any size; while apps that cannot be resized will be automatically raised by the operating system preserving aspect ratio. Apps that can only be used in one orientation (like portrait) will be scaled as best as possible, although black borders should be expected in some cases.
With all these changes, Android can become a very competent desktop system; we would only need to connect a keyboard to our tablet and have, for practical purposes, a laptop capable of running many productivity applications (such as Google Docs), photo and video editing, and much more.
