Android's Desktop Mode gets a handy shortcut to pin your favorite apps to the taskbar
TL;DR Google is improving Android's still-in-development Desktop Mode by adding the ability to pin apps to the taskbar for quick access.
A new 'pin to taskbar' shortcut appears in an app's context menu, letting you add it to the dock for easy launching even after it's closed.
This is a small but necessary step in Google's effort to make Android a more viable desktop competitor, especially against platforms like the iPad.
Android finally has a proper Desktop Mode that transforms your Pixel phone into a PC… in theory, at least. Android's Desktop Mode is still a work-in-progress, as it lacks many features found on other desktop operating systems. Google is diligently working to close that gap, though, and with the latest Android Canary release, the company has added a basic but essential feature for managing the apps on your taskbar.
In the first Android Canary build released last week, we noticed the desktop mode launcher now shows a 'pin to taskbar' shortcut in an app's drawer context menu. Clicking this adds the app to the dock, allowing you to launch it easily even after it's been closed. To unpin an app, you can either drag its icon off the dock (from your phone or tablet's screen) or use the 'unpin from taskbar' option in the app's taskbar context menu.
Here's a quick video showing the new pin/unpin shortcut in action:
So far, I'm only seeing this shortcut in the desktop mode launcher and not the regular launcher. It's an odd omission, given that the taskbar also appears on the internal screens of most Android tablets and book-style foldables.
Still, it's nice to see Google adding this feature. This is a small but necessary addition that brings Android's Desktop Mode one step closer to competing with other desktop platforms. Google recently confirmed that it plans to merge Chrome OS and Android into a single platform, and it's our understanding that this initiative is to make Android devices better compete with the iPad. If it wants to achieve that goal, it needs to keep adding features like these until the Android desktop experience is on par with other platforms.
A word of caution: although this feature is live in the July Android Canary build, we don't know when it'll roll out to users on the Beta or Stable channels. If we see this feature appear in the upcoming Android 16 QPR1 Beta 3 update, then it's safe to assume it'll arrive in the stable QPR1 release scheduled for September. However, if it doesn't, then it could arrive in the QPR2 release or later.
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