If you use an iPhone, you must be aware of how iOS adds app icons on the home screen even before they are fully downloaded. The ability is now available for Android users as well. As spotted by 9to5Google, Google Play is now instantly adding app icons on the home screen and showing the progress of new app installs.
Once a user taps on the ‘Install’ button in the Play Store, they will see a black-and-white version of the app is instantly added to the home screen. It will have a progress ring and a ‘Downloading’ label. Once the downloading phase is completed, the label will change to ‘Installing’. In case you are downloading more than one app at a time, you will see app(s) with “Pending…” label.
Android users will also be able to immediately rearrange icons the moment they appear. It must be noted that this only works for new app installs and does not include updates.
This app install progress is rolling out to Pixel and select non-Pixel Android phones running Android 11 and above. It is likely to end all users in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Google has rolled out a new integrated web view for Gmail users. The new view will make it easy to move between critical applications like Gmail, Chat and Meet at one unified location. Users will be able to switch between apps through the main menu that will appear on the left of the screen. The main menu will have pill-shaped icons for Mail, Chat, Spaces, and Meet.
When working in Chat and Spaces, users will be able to view a full list of conversations and Spaces within a single screen, making it easier to navigate to and engage. When in the inbox, users will be able to view the full array of Mail and Label options that are currently available in Gmail.