Android 15 Could Finally Reclaim Some Free Screen Real Estate

3 minute read

Summary:

Android 15 may require Play Store apps to use borderless mode, which displays content below the status bar and navigation for a better user experience.
The implementation of end-to-end mode is currently subscription-based and may not be possible for small applications or applications whose buttons overlap system lines.
These changes could significantly affect foldable phones and make Android apps look like iOS apps. The final decision will be announced after the first Android 15 developer betas are released.

Android updates have been focused on improving user interfaces since Android 12, when Google introduced Material Jy and dynamic themes. However, the situation continues to improve, and many improvements now come from optimizing existing user interface designs. The newly revealed code suggests that apps could look better on Android 15 with the right optimizations for status display and gestures under the navigation bar, allowing content to use every inch of the device's screen.

In the early days of Android, navigation buttons and the status bar rendered most of our screens useless. However, the screen-to-body ratio increased significantly and phone screens became larger, and Android allowed apps to display content below the status bar, around punch-hole cameras, and below the navigation bar or the l icon visible when using gestures. It's aptly named edge-to-edge mode, but even in Android 14 it's subscription-based, and app developers don't need to implement it.

Yes, full-screen apps like e-readers, video players, and the best Android games use edge-to-edge mode, but you won't see it in apps like Google Keep or smaller, self-developed apps . Part of the reason is that app buttons are mapped to the system tray or the effort required to implement the appropriate APIs just doesn't make sense.

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Source: Mishal Rahman/Android Authority

However, expert Mishal Rahman writes for Android Authority that Android 15 may make borderless mode mandatory for apps on the Play Store. Indeed, the code snippets for this mod were found in the API standard Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3 Beta 3 Level 35, which corresponds to Android 15. Moreover, the code snippet refers to Android 15 with the internal code name for the "vanilla ice cream" dessert.

Description: Provides full app functionality by default if the target SDK is VANILLA_ICE_CREAM or higher.

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Rahman implemented this change in the app and the visual difference brought about by the borderless mode is immediately apparent. In portrait mode, text and app content appear below the bottom navigation bar. In landscape mode, the app content still appears below the navigation bar, but we can't see the black vertical bar in the space blocked by the status bar. These changes may seem small, but they can make a big difference on foldable phones, especially in apps that aren't optimized for landscape mode. This will also make Android apps look like iOS apps.

Source: Mishal Rahman/Android Authority

Rahman also explains that while these changes are intended for the Android 14 beta, which targets the Android 15 API level, app developers submitting their creations to the Play Store will eventually need to target the Android 15 API level and therefore will require final updates. fashion to the end. However, we won't know for sure what Google's plans are until the pre-developer betas of Android 15 arrive, as it's just an optimization and Google could abandon it in favor of other immediate changes.