ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Android 17 has introduced app bubbles.
- You can isolate an app so its icon is always on top.
- It’s a Pixel exclusive for now, but is coming to other phones.
Several years ago, Android introduced the ability to “bubble” a text conversation, or move that app to a floating bubble on your home screen. It’s a convenient way to keep a conversation easily accessible.
Now, you can bubble apps as well.
As part of the Android 17 rollout, users got the option to use app bubbles. When you bubble an app, it sits on top of everything else on your screen, making it easy to access when you need it. You can place up to five apps in your bubble.
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A bubble only saves a tap or two each time you use an app, but it’s a fantastic multi-tasking tool if you have a handful of apps you use often. You could do something similar to this before, but only for Google Messages and Facebook Messenger chats.
How to bubble an app on a Google Pixel
The ability to bubble an app on Android is starting as a Pixel exclusive, but the feature will come to other manufacturers over time. There is an existing, similar feature for Samsung called Smart Pop Up View, and instructions for that are below.
1. Go to your home screen or app drawer
To get started, choose the app you want from either your app screen or your home screen.
2. Long-press the app you want to bubble
Press and hold on the app until a pop-up menu appears.
3. Choose bubble
The menu will show options like App info, Add app to home screen, or Pause app. Select the Bubble option.
4. Find a location
Your selected app will shrink to an icon that you can move around your home screen. You don’t have the freedom to place it anywhere, but it can go anywhere along the left or right side of your screen. The app will stay on top of everything else on your screen, and you can bubble multiple apps at once, but they will always move together.
How to bubble an app on a Samsung Galaxy
Samsung has a similar feature called Smart Pop-Up View that lets you respond to notifications on selected apps without leaving the app you’re in. You might need to enable your “Multi window for all apps” setting first.
1. Open Settings
Navigate to your settings app, open it, and select Notification Settings.
2. Choose Advanced settings
Once you’re in advanced settings, find and choose Floating Notifications. Then select Smart Pop-Up view.
4. Choose which apps you want
Now just select which apps you want to have priority.
Artie Beaty
Contributing Writer
Artie Beaty is a freelance writer, based just outside Charlotte, with a passion for smart home tech and tech news. He has a bachelor’s in journalism from UNC Charlotte and has been writing for over 15 years. On the weekends you’ll find him leading haunted ghost tours of uptown Charlotte. See full bio