Switching to a new smartphone can often be an exercise in retraining your muscle memory. Things like contacts, apps, and even files are easy to transfer with the current solutions. However, there are small system preferences that can be lost in the process because the target device is not supported. This is currently the case with Samsung Galaxy phones’ feature-packed One UI compared to Google Pixel phones, as the latter does not support customization of the three-button navigation bar.
On a standard Android phone, the navigation buttons are arranged from left to right: Back, Home, and Recents. For years, however, Samsung phones have done the opposite. The company places the Back button on the right and the Recents button on the left by default. This layout is a deeply ingrained part of the user experience for millions of Galaxy owners. When they switch to a Pixel, they’re forced to get used to the flipped order, which can be a frustrating experience.
Android may soon let you flip the navigation bar buttons
Now, the Android Authority team found clues that suggest Google is working on a native option to allow users to flip the navigation bar on Android. While this may seem like a small detail, it’s a huge deal for brand loyalty and user experience.
This isn’t the first time this change has been considered. Back in 2023, engineers from Sony—another brand that uses a similar navigation bar to stock Android—submitted code to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) to add this exact feature. Although those initial patches didn’t make the cut, it seems the idea has been picked up by Google itself.
Recent discoveries in the latest Android Canary release reveal code for a new feature that does exactly what many Samsung users have been asking for: it swaps the order of the Back and Recents buttons. While the feature isn’t yet live and a user-facing toggle isn’t available, the code’s purpose is clear.
No clues about a massive rollout yet
It’s still too early to say when you can flip the navigation bar on any Android. Even a seemingly simple feature requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work. This includes testing, UI design for a new toggle, and translating text. The earliest we might see it is in a future quarterly release of Android, but there’s no guarantee.
Ultimately, adding this simple customization option could make a big positive impact on the user experience. By offering a familiar navigation layout, the company could make the transition from a Samsung Galaxy phone to a Google Pixel much smoother. This way, Galaxy phone users would have one less excuse to move.
The post Google May Fix The Worst Part Of Switching From Samsung To Pixel appeared first on Android Headlines.
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