Probably for many users, the problem we have in Android, especially with devices that are large, and now also in phones that increasingly increase in size, is related to the multiscreen, or the famous multi-window that Samsung launched at the time and that has now become a common name for the operating mode. However, it seems that the possibility of getting much more out of the different windows and what this would mean in terms of productivity when handling devices is much closer than we think. At least that is what we can deduce from the Android L code.
The truth is that the network has leaked that within the internal code of the latest version of Android, Android L, the multi-window property is defined. In fact, she seemed to have already made her first appearance in the most recent Android story, with Jelly Bean, although until now not enough attention had been paid to the subject. And so far all the good things about the information that we have just learned, because at the moment, the possibility of taking advantage of it is really complex. Below we explain what is happening with it.
Before explaining what makes it difficult to take advantage of the hidden functionality in Android L code, and that would explain that we cannot use the multi-screen function in many of our terminals, it should be noted that the functionality is already being used by Samsung and LG. Especially the first one, which with its user interface does allow several windows to be opened in contemporary settings on the same screen. But, if it were a native Android feature, we would have all manufacturers take advantage of it without too much complication.
However, the multiscreen on Android L it would already allow to implement the possibility of moving different applications at different levels, choosing the position and the amount of screen that each one would use. You can take a look at the following screenshot to understand what we are talking about. But the practice is totally discouraged for developers, since they would look for extra complications that at the moment, with the usual development they do not have. After the image we explain in a simple way why we cannot find apps in Google Play that take advantage of this function in the Android code from Jelly Bean.
For now, APIs that allow it are hidden, and in addition to this, it is not possible to take advantage of them because the level of signature protection is requested. This means that both the firmware developer and the application developer who wants to take advantage of the feature must be the same person. In addition, we would need root permissions, so that the operation, as the code is currently shown, would not be too reliable.
However, although it is not something that we can applaud and prove at the moment, it is true that the fact that the multiscreen code in Android L, makes it possible to think that soon we will have something firm, and for many, the answer would already be in the new tablets that Google would develop. That is, the Nexus 9 of which some details have already been leaked. For my part, I am more of the idea that this development still needs to mature, although I admit that I would like to see it as soon as possible. How do you see it, how would you like to have multi-window on Android before the end of 2014?
