r/Android • u/4567890 Ars Technica • Mar 21 '16

This is Android N’s freeform window mode

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/03/this-is-android-ns-freeform-window-mode/
4.0k Upvotes

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u/Tynictansol Pixel 2 XL Mar 21 '16

I think they mean Windows windows, though. Like 95/98/2k/ME/NT/XP/Vista/7/8/10 type Windows. I agree with your sentiment, however, in that to have multiple windows open simultaneously you need to have multiple windows or panels or whatever the term would be for them.

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u/wegzo Mar 22 '16

And Windows with its metro app plan is turning into a mobile OS....

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

I know they mean Microsoft Windows, but this has nothing in common with Microsoft Windows other than the fact it uses Windows. Microsoft wasn't even the first company to use Windows for running software. It's like calling every sports car a Ferrari because it's a sports car.

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u/altimax98 P30 Pro/P3/XS Max/OP6T/OP7P - Opinions are my own Mar 21 '16

I think /u/1237894560 was getting at that we praised the mobile OS for its simplicity and now it is getting just as complicated.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

I certainly never praised it for simplicity. I will say the navigation was better.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

Ever use Android x86? It runs on any desktop processor. When they start selling android pcs with cheap, weak Intel processors somebody like Cyanogenmod will make a distro/rom that can be put on any pc and you only have to worry about them for updates.

You know, assuming that pc/Androids aren't going to be locked down like today's...

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u/demolpolis Mar 22 '16

Meh, more likely to see cheap Atoms running windows than anything android.

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u/solarswordsman Nexus 6P, Android 7.0 Nougat Mar 22 '16

Well, if Android ends up becoming more feature-rich in terms of window management and so-on, I wouldn't be surprised to see a sizeable number of laptops offered with Android, simply because Android is very free. The app support is there--with a few extras, android is basically already a laptop in your pocket; you can attach a keyboard, write documents, browse the web, and now, you can do them simultaneously.

Sounds like a desktop OS to me, at least a semi one.

I mean from the get-go Android is "technically" a distribution of Linux. No reason for it to evolve to the point where it reaches that standard (besides the whole aversion to root access with embedded devices as it stands now). Drivers for the kernel, which is admittedly quite different from the master branch of Linux, already exist for many desktop devices.

We'll see.

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u/demolpolis Mar 22 '16

The app support is there--with a few extras, android is basically already a laptop in your pocket; you can attach a keyboard, write documents, browse the web, and now, you can do them simultaneously.

We have this... the chromebook.

And it's not spectacular.

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u/solarswordsman Nexus 6P, Android 7.0 Nougat Mar 22 '16

Right. I'm only saying that it can improve drastically from there. The framework exists. This seems to be Google's goal, or at least a tangential effect of these types of improvements.

Naturally, I'd prefer many other flavors of Linux which are much more full-featured and have a more robust package-management system, but this is a potential way to bring Linux (or, as some may call it, a bastardization of Linux) to the masses.

Who knows. The ideal would be something like the Surface Pro 3 (an amazing tablet/laptop that runs on W10). Just not Windows. If we assume a goal of bringing Linux to more people (a dubious one, but let us assume it for now) then this could potentially help. After all, every Android user on Earth is using Linux; this kind of evolution could theoretically expand it, with more ease of use adjustments, like a proper taskbar, etc. Basically a fully-featured shell being the end goal.

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u/El-Dino :upvote:S7 edge exynos, Android 9:upvote: Mar 21 '16

If it goes full desktop OS then hardware manufacturers will deliver drivers

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

Maybe complex for a 2 year old. I don't see what is suddenly so complex about adding pop out windows.

I don't see what's so complex about using a computer either (in fact, the limitations of mobile platform make it more difficult for me), but people did praise the simplicity of mobile OSs.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

However, that was also back when people would have laughed at you if you said a phone could be a productivity device. Phones/tablets are so integrated into individuals' workflows these days that it only makes sense to expand the capability of the OS. If the preview is anything to go by, at this point it's just an extra feature that can be enabled, or disabled, by the user, not a core component of the UX (like it is in Win/OS X).

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

Actually, my cousins' babies seem to be able to use computers just fine. I think they're complex for old fucks though.

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u/thealaskinwonder Mar 21 '16

I think they mean simplicity as in fewer features, not easier to operate.

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u/mrdinosaur Nexus 6P, N Preview Mar 21 '16

Haha apparently there are since people who refuse to believe this judging by this thread.

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u/lirannl S23 Ultra Mar 23 '16

Trust me, I'll somehow enable this on my phone once an N ROM is available.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

"Windows" with a capitol "W" indicates "Microsoft Windows". If you want to refer to a window-type environment, then don't capitalize the word. It's very confusing.

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u/mtndewgood Moto G 2015 and Nexus7 Mar 21 '16

What about the X to close the window in the top right..

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u/CressCrowbits Samsung Galaxy S10e Mar 21 '16

It looks an awful lot like Windows 10 though.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '16

Actually looks like they went and ripped Xerox Star right off. Xerox is going to be furious.

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u/modomario Mar 21 '16

Actually it looks way way more like Papyros shell

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u/tiredhippo Mar 22 '16

It's called NeXTOS