Google code commit hints to multi-window app support arriving in future Android version

Google I/O is just around the corner and we have a good feeling Google will talk about/detail new changes headed to their mobile OS. Changes much bigger than what 5.1 — rolling out now to Nexus devices — introduced.

With that release now in the books (which mostly dealt with big fixes, dual SIM and HD Voice support) you may be wondering to yourself what could be ahead for future versions of Android. Well, a gem discovered in an AOSP framework code commit is shedding some light on a big new feature coming soon to Android: multi-window apps.

commit ed7698c8ed66b959d723caa7bfe01530d306fb8d
Author: Craig Mautner cmautner@google.com
Date: Tue Jan 27 11:44:59 2015 -0800

Defer tap outside stack until multiwindows

Taps outside of the stack boundary were causing the current app to
lose focus. This led to timeouts waiting for the app to respond.

Disabling the tap recognition keeps the focus from changing. It will
be reenabled for multiwindows.

As you can see above, there aren’t very many details, just a quick reference. While having multiple apps displayed onscreen at once isn’t a feature that everyone will use, it could be great for Android power users who need more multitasking than what stock Android provides. Really, the idea isn’t anything new. Samsung’s custom TouchWiz UI has allowed for multi-window apps for a while now, but exactly how Google plans on implementing this feature remains to be seen.

What say ye? Would you use multi-window apps if baked into Android in the near future?

[AOSP]

Hints of Android 5.1.1 start popping up in Android SDK manager

Don’t look now, but Google is working on a bug fixer for the bug fixer. Android 5.1 — which mostly introduced a sea of squashed bugs and just a couple of new user-facing features — seems to be getting a follow-up.

One Google+ user noticed that Android 5.1.1 started showing up in his Android Studio SDK manager this morning. We’re seeing the very same goods in our own installations of the SDK manager.

We’ve heard murmurings from trusted sources in previous weeks that Google was prepping 5.1.1 and that devices with the supposed firmware were visiting their apps and websites. So what’s new?

We can’t really tell just yet. This is a .1 incremental release, after all, which typically serve as nothing but minor bug fixers. It’s likely there isn’t much new to be had on the surface, though we haven’t had a chance to get our hands fully dirty just yet. We’ll get digging, but in the meantime we’ll be on the lookout for any announcements from Google later today, as well as possible factory images for Nexus devices should Google look to start a rollout in the near future. Stay tuned!

[Thanks, Fedor!]

The full Google I/O 2015 schedule is now live, includes a 2.5-hour Day 1 keynote + hints of Android M

Google has released the full schedule for Google I/O 2015. It takes place May 28th through May 29th, as we’ve previously known, and the festivities will kick off with a whopping 2.5-hour keynote speech. That seems like a lot, but it’s important to remember that Google I/O used to be a 3-day event and Google would split keynotes between the first two days.

Regardless, they’ll be sure to have a lot to talk about as they always do. What are we expecting? There are no crazy predictions to be had just yet, but we can think of a few:

• More details about Project Fi and the future of Google’s wireless carrier experiment


• A focus on the connected home and Internet of Things.


• New features for upcoming versions of both Android and Chrome OS — we’re not necessarily expecting a huge Lollipop-esque update to be ready for some massive showing but Google will definitely want to give us a sneak peak at what they’re looking to introduce at some point in the near future. (Note: Google’s “Android at Work” session made mention of Android M, but the schedule has since been updated to remove it.)


• More details about the future of Google Glass? That would be ideal, especially since they’re sick of everyone proclaiming Glass is dead.


• New Android Wear goods to show, possibly including new product types.


• Free stuff for attendees, because history.


• Awesomeness, fun and excitement aplenty.

And, you know, your typical geeky developer sessions to help attendees understand what goes into developing for Android, Chrome and the mobile web. Phandroid will be right there in San Francisco to see it all go down so keep that in mind if you’re yearning for coverage once the day arrives. Be sure to check out the full schedule details right here.