As of Android 10, we’ve been ready to decide on alternative ways to entry your multitasking pane — that helpful stream of thumbnails that lets us view all our lively apps, select which one you need to use, and swipe off any you need to shut — and to navigate your property display screen. Until then, we principally navigated Android screens utilizing buttons on the backside of the display screen. Since then, we’ve been in a position to both swipe to navigate or decide to proceed utilizing those self same buttons.

If you’ve acquired Android 10 or 11, you’ll be able to select from three strategies: gesture navigation, two-button navigation, or three-button navigation. When Android 12 got here round, two-button navigation disappeared, however you’ll be able to nonetheless swap between gesture and three-button navigation. Here’s how you modify find out how to navigate by way of your property display screen and entry your multitasking pane.

• Pull down from the highest of the display screen to entry your app drawer, and faucet in your setup icon (the cog within the decrease proper nook)

• If you could have Android 11, choose “Accessibility” > “System navigation”
• If you could have Android 10 or 12, choose “System” > “Gestures” > “System navigation”
• If you could have Android 10 or 11, choose both “Gesture navigation,” “2-button navigation,” or “3-button navigation.” If you could have Android 12, choose “Gesture navigation” or “3-button navigation.”

Now right here’s an outline of the distinction between the three strategies.

Gesture navigation

This is the “swipe” technique launched in Android 10 and the one which Google appears to be most anxious that individuals use. With gesture navigation, you don’t get the previous again, house, and swap apps buttons on the backside of the show. Instead, all you’ll see on the backside of the display screen is a single flat line. Swipe up and maintain, and also you’ll get the multitasking pane with all of your open apps. You can then swipe backward and forward to entry them.

Once you’ve acquired the multitasking panel up, you’ll be able to faucet on the icon on the high of every app web page to get a drop-down menu that permits you to entry the app’s information web page and open the app in a split-screen format. Depending on the app, you might be able to entry different options as properly; for instance, in case you’re operating a video, you’ll be able to pause it from right here.

In Android 11, two hyperlinks had been added under the multitasking pane: Screenshot and Select. Tap Screenshot, and also you’ll get a screenshot of no matter app web page you’re at present taking a look at. Tap Select, and all of the textual content on that app web page can be chosen so that you can copy, share, or search by way of.

2-button navigation

If you continue to have Android 10, this provides you two icons on the backside of the display screen: a brief, thick line that stands in for the Home button and a again button to the left. Swipe up on the house button, and you’ll entry the identical multitasking pane with the drop-down menus that may be accessed on the high of every app.

However, in Android 11, you don’t get the “Screenshot” / “Select” buttons beneath the panes. Instead, as in Android 10, you get a Google search discipline on the backside of the display screen together with icons for 5 apps.

As talked about earlier than, Android 12 doesn’t supply 2-button navigation.

3-button navigation

This is the old school approach to navigate, with the again, house, and swap apps buttons on the backside of the show. Use the right-hand “switch apps” icon to carry up the multitasking pane. You nonetheless have the drop-down menus out there above every app, and in Android 11 and 12, you could have the Screenshot and Select hyperlinks under.

Update March ninth, 2022, 5:00PM ET: This article was initially printed on October 1st, 2020, and has been up to date to incorporate Android 12.