Android Q Beta 5: New gesture control adds corner swiping for Google Assistant
The fifth beta is live.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Android Q Beta 5 is out now.
Android Q Beta 5 has launched, with Google including gestural navigation updates, so you can swipe from the corners to get Google Assistant . The fifth beta, launched Wednesday, is "very close" to what we'll see in the final release, Dave Burke, Android vice president of engineering, said in a blog post. Google will be launching Android Q later this summer, and kicked off its beta program for the new OS on Google Pixel phones in March. Since then, we've seen four beta upgrades, each with new fixes and features.
The gestural navigation updates included in Beta 5 allow you to use a swipe gesture from either corner to reach the Assistant. For apps using a navigation drawer, Beta 6 has also added a peek behavior when users grab the drawer to indicate that a swipe will bring in the navigation drawer.
The general idea of these gesture settings is to let apps use the full screen for content while minimizing visible system navigation, Burke said.
Google said it will continue working on custom launcher issues, and will switch to three-button navigation for custom launchers in Beta 6. That will be the final beta before the full launch of Android Q by the end of this quarter. Android will be hosting a Reddit AMA later in July to answer questions about the updated OS.
The previous Android Q update had seen developer APIs already finalized, as well as the addition of chat bubbles, Wi-Fi and QR codes, undo app removal, location control, privacy settings, better notification controls and live captions.
