Android Q brings freeform windows

14

March, 2019

Pixel | Android | Beta

Android Q adds freeform windows which allows application to run in windowed mode.

Freeform windows makes its way into Android Q with the latest beta. In order to enable this feature you need to be a developer on your phone. You can become a developer by going to Settings -> About phone and then tapping the build number until you are a developer. Then you need to go to Settings -> System -> Developer Options and scroll down till you see "Force activities to be resizable" and "Enable freeform windows". Toggle both on and restart your device. Then you can go to the app switcher and press the icon on top of the app preview and then tap freeform. This will run the application in windowed mode. This is exactly what it looks like:

Enable the feature in developer options.Screenshot: Android Q

Tap icon to bring up freeform option.Screenshot: Android Q

App then launches in windowed mode.Screenshot: Android Q

A very cool feature to see in Android. It might not be too useable on regular phones, but I can see this being a perfect fit for foldable phones and tablets. Let me know down below what you think about this feature!

Thank you so much for reading!