Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is pushing out a Pixel Launcher change that allows you to open apps by urgent Enter after partially typing their identify.
- The keyboard button switches from Google Search to an arrow/Enter shortcut when an app identify is detected.
- After a restricted check, the characteristic now seems to be rolling out to extra Pixel customers by way of a server-side rollout.
Google seems to be rolling out a small however significant improve to the Pixel Launcher that makes opening apps sooner than earlier than. After beforehand testing the characteristic with a restricted group of customers, studies now counsel the change is reaching a wider viewers.
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As flagged by customers to Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman on his Discord channel, Pixel house owners are actually seeing the flexibility to launch apps from the Pixel Launcher by partially typing an app’s identify and urgent the Enter key on the keyboard. In different phrases, there’s no have to faucet the app icon from the outcomes listing.
Once you seek for an app within the present expertise, the Pixel Launcher shows the app as the highest consequence. Nevertheless, urgent the keyboard’s bottom-right button triggers a Google Search as an alternative of opening the app. With this new change, that button transforms into an arrow or Enter key when an app match is detected, and urgent it opens the app immediately.
Whereas this can be a minor tweak, it undoubtedly improves one-handed usability by eradicating an additional faucet and conserving your complete interplay on the keyboard.
Apparently, this isn’t a very new thought. Earlier variations of the Pixel Launcher behaved equally earlier than Google eliminated the performance in late 2022. The corporate briefly experimented with restoring it in 2023, however that check by no means expanded past a small rollout. This time, nonetheless, the rising variety of consumer studies suggests Google is lastly committing to the change.
The rollout nonetheless seems to be server-side, which means there’s no clear app replace tied to it. Some customers are seeing the brand new conduct, however I’m nonetheless not seeing it on my Pixel 10 Professional XL operating the steady Android 16 QPR2 replace. That is typical of Google’s gradual characteristic rollout, and I’m hoping it will likely be extensively obtainable to everybody quickly.
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