One of the features that Android devices have over iOS devices is the “back” button. This is actually a pretty useful feature where users can use it to navigate websites, navigate menu settings, and more. However it seems that come Android Q, there is a chance that Google could be ditching the feature.
This is according to the folks at XDA Developers who discovered that in a leaked Android Q build, Google is looking to introduce more gesture controls. One of those changes is how users move back and that is done by swiping on the “pill” button. This is versus the dedicated back button which has been more or less a staple on Android devices for the longest time ever, kind of like how Apple’s iPhones kept its physical home button only until two years ago.
The report also details how this gesture will let users swipe between apps, which once again is pretty similar to how the gesture controls work on the new iPhones. It is unclear if Google will be forcing this experience onto its users, or if users will still have the option to use a back button, but if not then it looks like Android users will have a bit of a learning curve to get used to.
Note that none of this is official yet as Google has yet to announce Android Q. The developer preview of the update has yet to be released to the public, but we expect that it should be available in the coming months, with more details to be shared at Google I/O 2019.