This Android-N a windowed mode in Windows style
They were found in the Android code N many references to a ” freeform windows ” mode in which the user can have an interface very similar to the windows to that of Windows.
One of the main features of Android N is the new multi-window mode with windows that are side by side with each other. There is also on smartphones, but it is clear how the particular feature has been designed especially for Pixel C and for the tablet-based operating system of the green robot. The multi-window is still only the beginning, since it seems that Android-N there will be a multi-window mode in the style of the Windows UI.
Hidden in the first alpha version of code released for developers and ordinary users find a mode called ” freeform windows mode “. There are many references functionality in one of the OS system files, framework-res.apk, although at the moment we are content with mere textual description. In the file, the references are located close to other settings you can turn on or off in the developer settings.
But no one is able to activate the new mode. Squeezes related to ” freeform windows ” mode have also been found in other locations, such as inside the apk related to SystemUI and SetupWizard. In the framework res.apk-file, we have the largest number of references, with elements that also lead back to hypothetical keys ” close ” and ” maximizes “, particularly dear to all users of traditional operating systems in windows.
The split-screen mode Android N already allows to resize at the user’s discretion applications. Once the app support this feature switching to a completely windowing system is fairly simple. This would not only support resizing ” horizontally “, but also vertically. One thing, at the system level, Android applications can already accept, although it lacks an interface appropriate to do so.
There is an important aspect to consider in the new discoveries in the code Android N. On the Developer Preview of Android M booze fact an experimental split-screen mode, we did not get the finalized version of the operating system. However, it is likely that the ” freeform windows mode ” before getting on the next Android version planned for the fall season, since it is mentioned on the documents already issued the SO.
” The large device manufacturers can choose to enable freeform mode, where the user can freely resize each activity, ” he said in this support page for developers. ” If the vendors enable this feature, the device offers a freeform mode in addition to the split-screen mode “. It unfortunately did not specify the new function operation, but has already said that it is not yet active in the first alpha already issued.
