Google has released Android 17 Beta 3 update today for everyone enrolled in the beta program and it brings some notable changes to the overall Android experience. However, a big new addition is the multitasking app bubbles, which allows users to open apps in a floating window and stack multiple apps at a time, bringing a more serious multitasking experience natively on Android.
Multitasking App Bubbles are One of the Biggest Highlights of Android 17
App bubbles were previously introduced with Android 17 Beta 2 but were mostly restricted to developers. With Android 17 Beta 3, the feature is live for all users running the beta software on their Pixel phones, bringing support for a floating window for all apps.
Users can access it by long-pressing an app icon and selecting the "Bubbles" option. It will open the app in a floating window and users can minimise it into a bubble when not in use. The best aspect of this feature is that it allows you to stack multiple apps at a time, letting you add more apps to quickly switch between them and minimise them all at once when done.
This is a similar approach to Chat Bubbles on Google Messages, where you could stack multiple windows. The neat thing about the new multitasking bubbles on Android 17 is that you can also add previously closed apps from the "+" option in the stack. This further improves the multitasking experience of the user.
Another piece of good news is that multitasking bubbles are not just limited to tablets or foldables. Instead, it will be coming to all Android 17 supported devices. So, you will be able to enjoy it on large screen phones like the Pixel 10 Pro XL, or a smaller one like the Pixel 10a.
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