When Android 16 arrives next year — possibly sooner than its usual fall release — it could bring an interesting new way of multitasking. At least, that's what some recently discovered code seems to suggest.
In a recent code dive, Android Authority's Mishaal Rahman spotted an interesting multitasking upgrade that may be part of the Android 16 update, involving a change to the bubbles API that was originally launched with Android 11 in 2020. The bubbles API lets you put messaging apps into a floating window that sits over on top of other apps so you can quickly respond to chats. Minimizing the chat app window turns it into a bubble icon that can reappear when you need it.
As of the current version of Android, the bubble tool only works for chat apps and not every conversation app supports the feature. As Rahman notes, the "UI that launches within the bubble is just a regular Android activity." In theory, then, nearly any Android app should work if it was bubbled — potentially giving you a way to quickly switch apps when multitasking.
Rahman was able to get the new bubble API version working in the Android 15 QPR1 beta, though it's not live anywhere else and it's unclear when (or if) Google might launch the feature. He also found references to a "bubble anything" feature.
As it's currently constituted in the beta, once the Bubble Anything tool is activated, the Pixel Launcher adds a bubble button to the context menu. The context menu would pop up whenever you press and hold an app icon in the home screen. Tapping the Bubble option in the menu opens the app in a bubble with the floating window.
Rahman notes that Google also has code for a bubble bar feature where multiple bubbled apps can be put into a single box that you can tap in and out of. There's also a potential "bubble stashing" feature that would push the icon bubbles to the side of the screen. They get halved but appear to be able to be grabbed for quick access.
Rahman believes these bubble features will all work great on some of the best Android tablets due to the bigger display sizes. However, the ability to bubble any app and store those bubbles in an easily accessible nav bar or to the side of the screen would be a boon on the best Android phones as well.
As a reminder, these kinds of code dives can give us an idea of what Google is working on for the Android operating system. It doesn't guarantee a found feature will become live or that the feature won't see significant changes if it does launch.
Though Android 16 won't appear until 2025, we're already hearing a lot of rumors about Google's plans for the update. Rahman previously found potential changes to the way Android users interact with notification and the Quick Settings screens.
