Summary
- Google plans to improve the Pixel Launcher in Android 15 with faster animations and better widget recommendations.
- Widget recommendations will be categorized into essentials, social, health & fitness, news, and more.
- Android 15 will introduce a + Add button to easily place widgets on the home screen and make app options more accessible.
All Google devices ship with Pixel Launcher as their default launcher. While there are quite a few things we hate about Google’s launcher, it is still relatively customizable and packs valuable features, including At a Glance widget integration. With Android 15, Google plans to further improve the Pixel Launcher by introducing some quality-of-life improvements. A new report has detailed some of these changes.
The 6 things we hate about the Pixel Launcher
There’s a lot Google needs to fix with its launcher
In a report for Android Authority, Android guru Mishaal Rahman reveals Google will tweak the animation that appears when you swipe up from an app to go back to the home screen. The comparison video below shows that the new animation is much faster and springier, blending well with the wallpaper zoom effect.
Besides this, Google is working to improve the Pixel Launcher’s widget recommendation engine, which seemingly suggests random widgets in its current implementation. In Android 15, the launcher will show widget recommendations by separating them into the following categories:
- Essentials
- Social
- Health & fitness
- News & magazines
- Your Chill Zone
- Entertainment
- Suggested for your
- Weather
Another small planned improvement is the addition of a + Add button to the widget picker. Right now, you have to drag and drop the widget you want to the home screen. In Android 15, you can use the new Add button to place the widget on your Pixel’s home screen.
Google will also make a small UI tweak to the Recents screen in Android 15 Beta 1, making the app info, split screen, and pause app options more accessible. Currently, you must tap on the app icon’s logo from the Recents screen to access these options. The next release of Android will add a small pill next to the app’s name in the Recents screen to make it clear to users that they can access some additional options from here.
The Pixel Launcher needs more customization options
The Pixel Launcher could sport some more changes and improvements in Android 15, especially since Google updated the launcher’s settings menu in Android 15 DP2 to accommodate additional new features and options.
While these upcoming improvements to the Pixel Launcher in Android 15 will be welcome, they won’t address many of its shortcomings. Google must consider providing an option to remove the bottom search bar widget and the At a Glance widget from the home screen for users who prefer a minimalistic experience.
