Google is testing a new feature for Android tablets that will let you resize apps freely and arrange them on your screen at will, making juggling multiple tasks easier. The “desktop windowing” feature is now available as a developer preview, and for apps that support it, you can have more than one instance open.
Currently, apps on Android tablets open full-screen by default. When the new mode is enabled, each app will appear in a window with controls that let you reposition, maximize, or close the app. You’ll also see a taskbar at the bottom of your screen with your running apps.
Once the feature is rolled out to everyone, you can turn it on by long-pressing the window handle at the top of an app’s screen. If you have an attached keyboard, you can also use the shortcut meta key (Windows, Command, or Search) + Ctrl + Down to activate desktop mode. (You can exit the mode by closing all your active apps or by dragging the window and dragging it to the top of your screen.)
Google says that apps locked in portrait orientation are still resizable, which can look a little weird if certain apps aren’t optimized. However, Google plans to address this in a future update by scaling the UI of non-resizable apps while maintaining their aspect ratio.
Right now, users can access the developer preview of the latest Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 for Pixel Tablets. We don’t yet know when the feature will roll out to everyone — or if it’ll come to the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
