Android tablets are finally getting my most-wanted windowing feature

Google is about to give Android tablets a serious productivity upgrade with a new feature that could change how we use these devices. Google’s testing a new feature that lets you resize and arrange app windows just like on a desktop computer. This means no more full-screen or split-screen apps taking up the entire screen of your tablet – you’ll now be able to multitask like a pro.

Currently in developer preview for Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 on the Pixel Tablet, this “desktop windowing” feature lets you open apps in resizable windows, complete with a handy taskbar at the bottom of your screen. You’ll be able to move, resize, and even have multiple instances of the same app open, just like on a Chromebook or PC.

Similar to what you get on Apple’s Stage Manager for iPads or Samsung’s DeX, Google says this feature will “empower tablet users to get more done…allowing them to run multiple apps simultaneously and resize windows for optimal multitasking.”

Once this feature rolls out to everyone, enabling it will be a breeze. A simple press-and-hold on the window handle at the top of an app, or a keyboard shortcut (meta key + Ctrl + Down), will activate this desktop-like mode with the app shelf along the bottom. You can even exit it just as easily by closing all your apps or dragging a window to the top of the screen.

As I mentioned in my One Year Later Pixel Tablet review, I’ve been using my tablet more and more lately around the house and while I have been able to get some work done, it’s not my main work device. With the eiP Magnetix case, I can even triage emails and tackle some tasks before settling down at my desk, which is nice and all, but with this new windowing feature, the Pixel Tablet (and any other Android tablet) could become a serious productivity powerhouse.

While Android tablets have a long way to go before they can compete with Chromebooks that have a proper desktop-class browser, this feature and the functionality that it brings will blur lines a bit between Android tablets and Chromebooks. And with Google experimenting with running Chrome OS on Android phones and even creating a one-click launcher on the Pixel Tablet, the idea of running a full desktop on your tablet doesn’t seem like too far of a reach. But who knows when that might actually happen. For now, one thing’s for sure: Android tablets are about to get a whole lot more versatile.

You can try out this new feature on the Pixel Tablet before it’s released to the Android Open Source Project more broadly. Just make sure your Pixel Tablet is enrolled in the Beta program and update your Pixel Tablet to the latest Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2, then select the “Enable freeform windows” option in Developer Options release to try it out!