Predictive back gestures may be on their way to Android. It seems like Google is looking to improve the back gesture on the platform, as not everyone is happy with the way it works at the moment.
As many of you know by now, Google I/O 2022 is set to kick off on May 11. That is when Google will host its keynote and announce new changes to Android, and also some new products.
It seems like Google may end up offering predictive back gestures in Android
Google I/O doesn’t end on May 11, it’ll continue through May 12 as well. On May 12, one of the events Google is hosting is called “Back to the basics of System Back”. Alongside that listing, Google wrote the following “Discover how the future of Android will help you create predictive back navigation along with satisfying animations”.
This kind of confirms that the company is working on “predictive back navigation”. This kind of sounds that Google will employ machine learning. Your phone may learn how you use back gestures, and get better at recognizing your intentions as time goes by.
It should be good at realizing whether you actually wanted to go back, or simply swipe across the screen. That does sound quite promising, I just hope it won’t create new problems. Such as not swiping back when you really want it to do so.
I, personally, did not have any issues with Google’s current gesture navigation system. I basically always hit the back gesture properly, and don’t really hit it by accident at all. Your mileage may vary, and Google obviously has some stats that paint a different picture.
You can, currently, adjust the sensitivity of the back gesture, if you want
Now, if you’re having issues with the back gesture, for whatever reason, you can, at least, adjust its sensitivity at the moment. That is, at least, the case for Pixel smartphones running Android 12. You can navigate to Settings -> System -> Gestures -> System Navigation, and then tap the gear icon to see the menu.
I’m using the default setting, but you can try out all three that are on offer, to see which one suits you best. We’ll soon hear what Google has to say regarding these changes that are coming, as Google I/O is right around the corner.
2022-05-02 15:07:08