Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Outside, home screen 1
TL;DR
- Google might let Pixel Fold users keep using an app on the cover screen that was running on the folding display.
- The company might borrow OnePlus’s swipe-up gesture to initiate this feature.
The Google Pixel Fold is a step behind the best foldable phones when it comes to making the most out of the two screens. Now, it looks like Google could borrow a key feature from OnePlus for the Pixel Fold line.
Android Police discovered evidence that Google could offer a swipe up to continue” feature in a future version of Android.
“Fold your phone and swipe up on the front display to continue using the app, or wait a few seconds for the screen to lock,” reads an excerpt of one string reportedly found in the Android 14 QPR 3 beta.
This sounds identical to a feature found on the OnePlus Open and OPPO Find N3. OnePlus and OPPO let you close the phone and swipe up on the cover display to keep using the app you were using on the folding screen.
An overdue feature for Google’s foldable
This would be a handy addition to the Pixel Fold line, as Google doesn’t let you continue using an app on the cover screen that you were just using on the folding display.
Android Police previously reported that Google was also working on a similar continuity feature in Android 14 QPR1. This feature would’ve allowed users to set whether the phone would always continue using an app on the cover display, only allow games and videos to continue on the cover display, or never let apps continue running on the cover screen. But the company apparently ditched this feature in subsequent releases.
We nevertheless hope the Pixel maker doesn’t stop here. Google doesn’t offer per-display customization either, unlike Samsung. So you’re forced to have the same home screen layout on both screens. It would therefore be great if the company took a page from Samsung’s book in this regard.
