As to be expected, the dominant Android news this week has been the release of the first developer preview for Android P. While the code is still considered alpha and not near completion, you can already pick out areas of important changes in the upcoming release.
One minor change that has surfaced is a slightly revamped Pixel Launcher. The Pixel Launcher was introduced with the original Pixel phones and Android Nougat. It was tweaked slightly on the Pixel 2 lineup and Oreo and appears again to be set for a minor tweak with Android P and, presumably, the Pixel 3 lineup. But you can try it out today on any phone.
Undoubtedly most readers have seen the Pixel Launcher today and when you look at the new one in Android P, there is only one noticeable change. That change is that the app dock at the bottom of the home screen is now completely shaded white.
Android P Pixel Launcher Update
That’s about it folks other than a voice search function that is now available in the Google Search bar in the dock. This isn’t overly surprising frankly. The Pixel Launcher has generally been well received and there isn’t much of a reason for Google to completely overhaul it at this point. The question will be if more functionality or tweaks are added to it as Android P goes through its development cycle. That remains to be seen.
If you want to download the new Pixel Launcher and give it a go on your phone, you can get it over at APKMirror.
