Android 17 Google is bringing some exciting improvements to its Pixel phones, and Bubbles might be the biggest one. Pop-ups and floating windows are nothing new to Android users, but they were never built into the Pixel UI. Instead, power users had to turn to other operating systems such as Samsung A UI multitasking with floating windows.
Google was already familiar with floating windows and pop-up views, as Android already supported Bubbles for messaging apps. At the time, I found them more annoying than helpful. I only accidentally enabled chat bubbles and never saw the value in them. After running Improved Bubbles experience for apps and multitasking In Android 17, I believe.
Here’s how you can try app bubbles with Android 17 for yourself, and how the Pixel experience compares to the Galaxy.
App bubbles are a new way to multitask on the Pixel
Google Pixel phones now support multitasking with split-screen views. Open the app, use the app switcher and a. Click the program name to reveal it Split screen button. Pixel users can then select a second app to create a split-screen layout. They can drag the slider in the middle to adjust the split ratio.
For traditional Android phones, the horizontal split is 50:50 by default, but you can drag the slider to the 90:10 position to open a new one. Android 16 feature. In this mode, one app takes up most of your phone screen while the secondary app remains grayed out. The rate of touching the second unused program varies. It’s a great solution for when you want to use two apps (mostly) in full screen mode without using the app switcher.
Android 16 it didn’t offer a better way to use more than two apps at the same time. Android 17 finally fixes this problem with app bubbles. You can use up to five at a time, and it’s a handy way to multitask when the usual split-screen mode just won’t cut it. Basically, apps stay minimized in a bubble, and tapping them reveals a floating window that lets you use the app over anything on your screen.
I’ve rarely used split-screen views on my Pixel phones for multitasking, but Bubbles looks easier to create and is fun to use.
Add up to five apps to the Android 17 bubble group
Bubbles are a core part of the Android 17 experience by default. Surprisingly, you can’t create them as a split-screen view. Instead, you have to create Bubbles by physically holding down the app’s icon on the home screen or in the app drawer. Find the app you want to convert bubbleand hold it to reveal shortcut menu.
If the app doesn’t offer a custom shortcut, you’ll see a button with a new icon next to the word Bubble. This icon looks like a minimized window with an arrow pointing to a point. If an app has custom shortcuts, you’ll only see them Bubble icon – not text. Either way, tapping the Bubble button in the app’s shortcut menu will open your first app bubble.
The floating app window takes up most of the screen, and above it you’ll see all the bubbles in your group. If this is your first bubble, you can click on it + A button to add your recently used apps in the form of a bubble. To add an app you haven’t used recently as a bubble, find it in the section app draweropen shortcut menuand tap Bubble button.
You can place up to five bubbles in a group and switch between them by tapping each bubble icon. As you use them, they are reordered, so the most recently used app icons appear first. Move away from the app bubble and you’ll be back where you were before you opened the bubble. A bubble or group of bubbles will appear as a small icon on your screen that you can move anywhere you want.
There are several ways to close a bubble. If you want to close only one, you can open it, tap on it Manage button and tap Give up the bubble. To close each bubble in the group, hold the bubble icon and drag it over Close it press the button at the bottom of the screen, then release.
Collapsible users get a different software bubble experience
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Pixel Fold, Pixel 9 Pro Fold or Pixel 10 Pro FoldThe Bubbles experience will be different when you open the home screen. here, Bubbles appear as part of the Taskbar. Along with the Taskbar’s docked apps and recently used apps, you’ll see the Bubbles group in the corner. You can tap an app bubble or group to open a floating window, but it will still only take up a small portion of one half of the screen.
The best thing about Bubbles running on the inner screen of foldable phones is that they stay completely hidden while you’re using your device. In its minimized form, Bubbles — like the rest of the Taskbar — stacks up when you use other programs. Swiping up from the bottom opens the Taskbar and shows your Bubbles.
I love Android 17’s app bubbles, but there’s one thing
Bubbles are a smart way to make multitasking easier on your Pixel devices, especially if you have a Pixel Fold. However, they are not perfectly compatible with floating windows and pop-up views On Samsung Galaxy phones.
The One UI 8.5 the experience is more powerful because you can move, resize, or detach floating windows anywhere. You can also create floating windows from the app switcher in One UI, whereas you have to go to the home screen or app drawer in Pixel UI.
So while the Bubbles experience in Android 17 needs work to be a true One UI competitor, it’s a great step in the right direction for Pixel users.
Awesome app bubbles
Google Pixel phones are the first to get Android 17, so if you need a new phone and want to try them out, the Pixel 10 is a good place to start. It can run Android 17 today and will get six more Android OS updates after that.
