Friends, Android enthusiasts, fellow Pixel folks – listen up, because what I'm about to tell you could change the way you think about getting around on your favorite Google phone:
No matter what you've seen with Android 13 so far or how much you've done to unearth its many buried treasures, you certainly haven't experienced the software's biggest and most revolutionary addition. And there's a good reason for that: the plugin is technically not available on your device.
Android 13, as you may already know, is the story of two different operating systems. And while the improvements to the front of the standard Pixel phone are certainly not insignificant, the breakthrough that has the potential to make the most significant difference to your daily life isn't designed for use in this environment. It's limited to foldable phones and tablets (at least for now).
But get this: With about 30 seconds of careful tinkering, you can crack this addition. And if you're anything like me, you'll probably be amazed at how it improves your efficiency and transforms your Android experience.
Let me explain you.
(*13*)The invisible superpower of Android 13First, some important context for this: If there's an overall theme of Android 13, what the release ultimately is, from a broader perspective, is optimization.
More than anything, Android 13 is meant to optimize the big-screen experience on the ever-increasing number of foldable Android phones, as well as the incoming army of new Android tablets.
Part of that is simply picking up where Google left off many moons ago and starting to pay attention to building a core Android interface and infrastructure that takes advantage of all the extra screen real estate on these kinds of devices again and uses it in a more efficient way. intelligent.
But part of this also introduces something entirely new into the equation, something that will be familiar to anyone who's switched to Google's other main platform, ChromeOS.
You may have seen it: Android 13 brings an improved version of the ChromeOS shelf or taskbar to Android. It's a persistent bar at the bottom of the screen on tablets and foldables that makes it easy to access any app, anytime, without having to waste time going back to the home screen and searching for the tool you need.
It also introduces the intriguing new power of splitting your device's screen on demand and viewing two apps side by side simply by dragging an icon from that taskbar onto the main area of your screen. This brings a long-lost approach to Android's split-screen system and transforms it from a forgotten afterthought into a feature that suddenly feels relevant and useful.
I spent some time with Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 4 phone, courtesy of a borrowed review unit on the AT&T network, and I have to tell you: while you'd expect hardware to be the star of the show with a product like this, it's really the new software-driven taskbar that stands out the most. (The Galaxy Z Fold 4 doesn't run on Android 13, but it's free with the latest update to Android 12L from the last year - which, heureusement, is on end or this barre des tâches is technically apparue for the first time.)
Make no mistake: the flip screen is an impressive display of phone-making prowess. And that is very intriguing in and of itself.
But using the Fold 4, what struck me most was the practical value that the new Android taskbar element adds to the experience. And more than anything, I keep wondering: why isn't it available as an option on all Android phones? !
JRWell, here's the little secret: It does, at least on devices running Android 13, like your trusty Google Pixel. It's just up to you to figure out how to enable it. And it's not really obvious.
(*13*)Google Pixel Android 13 taskbar hackAlright, just a word of warning before we dig any deeper: Enabling the Android 13 taskbar item on your Pixel requires a bit of advanced Android caving (to use the technical term). For now, at least, this piece of software is designed to be used only on devices with screens of a certain size, so what we need to do is basically trick your Pixel into thinking it's bigger than it really is.
There's no risk to you or your phone, and as long as you follow these instructions exactly, it's actually quite easy. (It's also incredibly easy to undo, if you ever decide you don't like it and want to revert.) But we're delving into a sensitive area of Android that's primarily aimed at developers, and if you stray from Sure, and mess up the wrong option in this area, you could drive things crazy.
So proceed only if you feel comfortable and strictly follow the instructions on this page. capisce? capisce
The first step in bringing the Android 13 taskbar to your Pixel is to head into your phone's standard settings: swipe down twice from the top of the screen, then tap the shaped icon in the corner of the panel that appear. So, as long as your Pixel is running Android 13:
- Scroll down the settings menu and tap on “About phone”.
- Scroll to the bottom of this screen and find the line labeled "Build Number."
- Tap this line repeatedly until you see a prompt to enable developer mode on the device. You may need to enter your PIN, pattern, or access code to continue.
- Now, with developer mode enabled, go back to the main settings menu, tap the search box at the top of the screen, and type the word the smallest in the search indicator. This should reveal a developer option called "Smaller Width". Press it!
- Hit "Smaller Width" one more time, and in the prompt that appears, first type the number that's there to start with, in case you want to change it later. Then change the value to 600 and press "OK".
JRAnd that's it: at this point, the Android 13 taskbar should appear at the bottom of your Pixel's pure screen. You'll probably even get a little tutorial showing you how you can use it and hide it whenever you want.
JRThe only catch is that in order to trick your Pixel into thinking its screen is big enough for the taskbar to be present, we had to make all the elements on the screen too small. And unless you have Superman-level eyesight, it's not exactly optimal.
So, here's the solution to this problem: Go back to the main menu of your phone's settings, tap "Display," then tap "Font Size," and turn the slider all the way to the right. (Depending on your device, you may need to tap "Display and text size" before you see the "Font size" option.) This will make the text larger throughout the operating system, although some of the other elements may remain slightly small around it. .
Give it some time and see what you think. You might get used to it, and you might also appreciate some of the other effects that come with this expanded screen setting, like the ability to see six Android quick settings shortcuts instead of four when you swipe down once from the top. from the screen. and the more desktop-like tab view that Chrome shows you in that context.
JRYou may also notice the presence of multi-pane interfaces in some apps that allow you to see different information on the screen at the same time.
Honestly, with a larger phone in particular, like one the size of the Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro, this sort of thing can make surprising sense. You definitely have the screen space for them. See how you feel after a day or two of using your phone with everything on.
And if you're not thrilled or want to bring an Android 13-like taskbar item to an older Pixel or any other device where Android 13 isn't yet available, read on, because there's another intriguing option for you to try. in.
(*13*)Another approach to the Android 13 taskbarFor an Android-13 taskbar experience on a phone where you don't have Android 13 present or don't want to deal with the side effects of the system level change we just covered, a nifty little app called taskbar well worth a look.
Taskbar adds a persistent taskbar on any Android phone, no matter who created it or what version of Android you're running. And it couldn't be much easier to get going:
- Install the taskbar app from the Play Store.
- Open it and give it permission to appear in other apps when prompted during its setup. (Taskbar is from a reputable Android developer and doesn't require any system permissions, including the ability to access the Internet, so it can't confuse your data.)
- Toggle the switch at the top of the taskbar settings screen to turn it on.
This will give you a nice little collapsible taskbar that appears at the bottom of your screen and can be opened or closed as you wish:
JRTo be clear, it's not like the native Android 13 implementation. Most notably, it doesn't include the cool swipe-up-to-start-split-screen functionality. But it does give you convenient access to any app at any time in a very similar setup, and that alone is quite a useful power.
So choose your own adventure and get ready to take full advantage of the latest and greatest Android improvement, even if it's not technically designed for you.
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