Will Android 6.0 support multiple windows?

Android, Android apps, Google, Mobile phones
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The next major version of Android could support multiple windows – according to some informed speculation and intriguing screenshots.

lollipop

According to Tracy and Matt, digging through the latest Android 5.1 sourcecode suggests that Google may be planning to build in support for windows apps – in other words, enabling you to run two apps side by side, just like on desktop operating systems.

As T&M points out, such a feature has been a part of Samsung’s “TouchWiz” user interface for some time – and is already possible on several handsets (such as the Galaxy Note 4) – but baking it directly into the OS would be significant from Google, as it would make it more reliable, consistent, and we could also start to see support for multiple windows on handsets made by the likes of HTC, LG and Huawei.

If it were to happen, it would certainly be a bold move – essentially heading more towards the full circle of operating systems as complex as our desktop computers on handheld devices. But as we say, it is only speculation based on a few snippits of code at this point – so is only barely a rumour.

James O’Malley
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