Not long ago we saw an app called Taskbar which allowed users with Lollipop and above to multitask by running multiple floating windows. If that method of multitasking feels a little too clunky, there’s a more elegant solution which puts any two apps of choice in multitasking view instantly by creating home screen shortcuts.
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Enjoy Your Favorite Apps Side by Side Using Split Screen Creator
Requirements
This method was first introduced by Samsung for their higher-end devices under the name App Pair but this app should work on most devices running stock Android or ROMs that aren’t too heavily skinned. Of course, the user must be running version Android 5.0 or above.
How to Make Any App Work With Split Screen
There’s still a ton of apps in the Play Store that doesn’t support split-screen multitasking but can be made to work using an option found in developer settings.
Step 1: Enable Developer Options by going to Settings, pressing Build Number seven times till you see a toast notification with a message indicating that you’ve unlocked developer options.
Force activities to be re-sizable from Developer options
Step 2: Go to Developer Options and scroll down till you see the option Force activities to be re-sizable and enable it.
Although this doesn’t guarantee hundred percent success rate it’ll increase the overall likelihood of an app not made for multi-window mode to function adequately.
How to Use Split Screen Creator
Step 1: After launching the app for the first time be sure to grant the app Accessibility permissions to let the app enter multi-window mode.
From left to right: Enable Accessibility for Split Screen Creator
Step 2: From the home screen add a widget shortcut called Split Screen. Simply select the two apps or shortcuts and give it a name to create the task.
From left to right: Create a split screen widget
In the screenshot, I’m using Nova Launcher to create a widget shortcut.
Demo:
The final icon on the home screen is used to trigger the two preferred apps in multi-window mode as seen below.
Split Screen widget in action
The main functionality of the app is free but the ability to change icons comes with a small in-app-purchase. But if you’re using a custom launcher you already change the look of an icon without the IAP.
Conclusion
While the app works smoothly most of the time, there were issues with certain apps like Chrome that simply refused to go into the split-screen mode at times. But that’s not something within the app’s control and the performance depends on each phone’s capabilities.
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The post Instantly Launch Your Favorite Apps in Android Multitasking View appeared first on Google Tricks Blog.
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