Questions about Pie on Pixel - Should I update? - Google Pixel Questions & Answers

Hello, I am using my Google Pixel for a few months, but did not update to Android Pie yet, as I was (and still am) not totally convinced yet. I specifically don't like the new Gesture system and the horizontal recents overview, as it is both a waste of apace. Android Oreo was the best Android in my opinion so far.
Still, I think about updating to Pie for security updates (and in the hope that it might not be as bad as expected). I know that Gesture ('swipe up on home button') can be disabled in settings on the 1st generation Pixel phones. What I want to know:
1) If I disable it, will I still have to swipe up twice on the dock to get to the app drawer?
2) If I disable it, is it still possible to go to split screen by long pressing the recents key?
3) If I disable it, can I still double tap the recents key to jump to the previously used app?
Would be glad about answers - And also interested into you opinion if I should or should not update to Android Pie! Thanks in advance.

Hello mate, can't say I've had a bad experience with Pie compared to Oreo in fact I prefer it to Oreo.
With regard to your questions
It's one swipe to app drawer
No long press for split screen
Double tap recents still takes you to last app.
I have been using the gesture mode since moving to pie and to be honest using the previous navbar layout feels almost awkward to use now.
Can't really comment on battery life between Oreo and pie as I picked my Pixel up 2nd hand and updated to pie a couple of weeks after getting it.
Hope that's of some help

Related

Feature Requests

Hopefully Essential takes some user feedback as far as features we would like to see going forward. If you post please try to keep it to reasonable features that mostly stock devices have or non os software tweaks.
The two big ones for me are
1. Night mode
2. Fingerprint shortcuts, primarily for notifications
tw1tch175 said:
1. Night mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Damn just checked and realized no night mode since got the phone just today.
+1 on night mode, that thing is must have at system level. Don't want to go back to using apps like twilight etc
My needs are simple. Would like the option to rearrange navigation buttons, battery percentage, and finger print gestures.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
Has anyone tried enabling night mode by enabling the UI tuner?. night mode is built into nougat but on some phones still has to be turned on. I don't have the phone yet to do it. Pull down the notification shade twice and then long press the settings cog icon. A wrench will show up next to the icon indicating that UI tuner has been enabled. Next install "night mode enabler" from the play store.
Unlocked bootloader, TWRP and root. Hopefully. ? - Not sure any devs are on board with this device.
I haven't received the phone yet, but does it support gestures while the screen is off? Such as double tap to wake, swipe up to unlock, etc.
Night mode is nice. I also like to separate ring volume from notification volume. I know that's not native to Android, but a simple mod makes all the difference for me.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
Night mode for sure. Second would be system level to force apps to use the full screen, like what Samsung has for the s8+
hx3 said:
Unlocked bootloader, TWRP and root. Hopefully. ? - Not sure any devs are on board with this device.
I haven't received the phone yet, but does it support gestures while the screen is off? Such as double tap to wake, swipe up to unlock, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep.
I'm waiting for TWRP.
For root, I plan to use Magisk to root and hide BL status. Since it's mostly ASOP, it should work like the Nexus 6P I have.
First off +1 to both, I really don't want to use the app that allows finger gestures, was a little sad to see it not available in stock Android since I got used to using it on the Pixel XL.
barleysoda said:
Has anyone tried enabling night mode by enabling the UI tuner?. night mode is built into nougat but on some phones still has to be turned on. I don't have the phone yet to do it. Pull down the notification shade twice and then long press the settings cog icon. A wrench will show up next to the icon indicating that UI tuner has been enabled. Next install "night mode enabler" from the play store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried it and it isn't there sadly. Just like the fingerprint gestures I don't want to have to add it through an app.
On the flip side I got exactly what I deserved/wanted. Nothing but pure Android (minus the Essential Cam app and the Essential option in the settings) so that was good but in a way I want to kick myself because I forgot that these two features were add ons to the skin for the Pixel devices. Whatever the case maybe, I'll get over it lol.
ability to change navigation buttons
Ghost_1 said:
First off +1 to both, I really don't want to use the app that allows finger gestures, was a little sad to see it not available in stock Android since I got used to using it on the Pixel XL.
Just tried it and it isn't there sadly. Just like the fingerprint gestures I don't want to have to add it through an app.
On the flip side I got exactly what I deserved/wanted. Nothing but pure Android (minus the Essential Cam app and the Essential option in the settings) so that was good but in a way I want to kick myself because I forgot that these two features were add ons to the skin for the Pixel devices. Whatever the case maybe, I'll get over it lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully those features, switching navigation buttons and more will come to the table once we get the bootloader unlocked and the possibility of custom ROM's/mods. Keeping my fingers crossed.
bricky23 said:
My needs are simple. Would like the option to rearrange navigation buttons, battery percentage, and finger print gestures.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tsquare2112 said:
ability to change navigation buttons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xyz.paphonb.systemuituner&hl=en
Use this to change nav bar.
For battery percentage just enable the UI tuner
1. Changing audio track with volume buttons when screen is off.
2. Resizing nav bar height
3. Double tap to wake
I second the fingerprint gestures and double tap to wake wholeheartedly.
Would also love to see these:
1. Ability to use Light Flow or another LED manager to customize notification LEDs. This is my favorite thing about Android phones and Essential's stock LED patterns aren't cutting it for me. Somehow they managed to make it impossible for the LED to flash more than once every 5 seconds.
2. Ability to use 360 camera attachment as a fisheye lens. Currently the camera stitches two 210 images together to form a 360 photo. I want to be able to choose just one lens to capture an image.
bricky23 said:
My needs are simple. Would like the option to rearrange navigation buttons, battery percentage, and finger print gestures.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery percentage option is in the system ui tuner I believe. Pull down the notification shade and long press on the settings icon then go into settings and look for it.
ability to change navbar height. it's too big uses unnecessary screen estate
There are several Improvements I would like to see in the phones software. More so just general optimization. However I think that most of these answers of what features are coming will be answered in Thursday's Q&A session with Andy Rubin on Reddit. So I guess we should wait until then to see where Essential and the ph1 is headed.

What is your first impressions on the Official Android 9 Pie?

So its been 7 days since I updated my Galaxy S9 + to the official Android 9 Pie. I am loving it overall. I think moving the UI elements to the bottom was a nice touch, leaning towards one hand operation. I panicked at first seeing all that wasted space but once you scroll down, it returns to normal. Love the Dark mode but not fond of the quick panel icons, no big deal. So far i had notice these bugs or feature omissions:
• No inertia scrolling in recent Apps (no rubber band effect). Scrolling is just one at a time.
• Some animation Jittering and Stuttering in the UI but less frequent now as the OS settled.
• The options when you click the middle of the divider in split screen view is not working/showing up.
• Good lock Apps stopped working except One Hand Operation
• Good Lock One hand operation is miles better IMO than the new gesture system, even better than the stock pie gestures and Apple gestures. Why don't they just bake One hand operation into the system is beyond me. But at least we can hide the nav bar natively now. One hand operation can co-exist with default gestures without affecting each other.
• Finder seems slow in Pie than in Oreo. It doesn't show the most recent search (by showing the app icons) i made and often requires me to tap twice the name of the app then another selection of related things about that app and that is where the icon will appear. Multiple taps instead of one.
• Dolby Atmos for games seems missing
• Swiping down in the homescreen to show notifications Panel needs a long swipe down as oppose to before needs only a small swipe down.
• Gallery - some very high resolution photos are not displayed properly. You can see jagged/rough lines all through out. But when you set the photo into wallpaper, homescreen shows the same photos correctly.
• Samsung Internet - PiP button is gone and couldn't find it anymore even in settings.
• Keyboard - when gestures are on (nav bar is hidden) and keyboard is showing there is a large gap at the bottom as if the nav bar is still there
• Network name overlaps with notification settings in the notifications panel if you have many notifications.
call_of_ktulu25 said:
So its been 7 days since I updated my Galaxy S9 + to the official Android 9 Pie. I am loving it overall. I think moving the UI elements to the bottom was a nice touch, leaning towards one hand operation. I panicked at first seeing all that wasted space but once you scroll down, it returns to normal. Love the Dark mode but not fond of the quick panel icons, no big deal. So far i had notice these bugs or feature omissions:
• No inertia scrolling in recent Apps (no rubber band effect). Scrolling is just one at a time.
• Some animation Jittering and Stuttering in the UI but less frequent now as the OS settled.
• The options when you click the middle of the divider in split screen view is not working/showing up.
• Good lock Apps stopped working except One Hand Operation
• Good Lock One hand operation is miles better IMO than the new gesture system, even better than the stock pie gestures and Apple gestures. Why don't they just bake One hand operation into the system is beyond me. But at least we can hide the nav bar natively now. One hand operation can co-exist with default gestures without affecting each other.
• Finder seems slow in Pie than in Oreo. It doesn't show the most recent search (by showing the app icons) i made and often requires me to tap twice the name of the app then another selection of related things about that app and that is where the icon will appear. Multiple taps instead of one.
• Dolby Atmos for games seems missing
• Swiping down in the homescreen to show notifications Panel needs a long swipe down as oppose to before needs only a small swipe down.
• Gallery - some very high resolution photos are not displayed properly. You can see jagged/rough lines all through out. But when you set the photo into wallpaper, homescreen shows the same photos correctly.
• Samsung Internet - PiP button is gone and couldn't find it anymore even in settings.
• Keyboard - when gestures are on (nav bar is hidden) and keyboard is showing there is a large gap at the bottom as if the nav bar is still there
• Network name overlaps with notification settings in the notifications panel if you have many notifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Scrolling between recents doesn't stop at each app in recents on the k list recent C builds.
2. Don't atmos for games was reported as being somewhere different. I don't use it so I'm not sure where.
3. The keyboard gap is intentional. It's too help avoid hitting home when using space bar. If you use swiftkey there is no gap. I got home often when not intending to when using space bar.
4. Nav Gestures are appreciated here. No reason for something new when bar / gestures are fine. It's nice there's another option, but no reason it should be default IMHO.
todd3835 said:
1. Scrolling between recents doesn't stop at each app in recents on the k list recent C builds.
2. Don't atmos for games was reported as being somewhere different. I don't use it so I'm not sure where.
3. The keyboard gap is intentional. It's too help avoid hitting home when using space bar. If you use swiftkey there is no gap. I got home often when not intending to when using space bar.
4. Nav Gestures are appreciated here. No reason for something new when bar / gestures are fine. It's nice there's another option, but no reason it should be default IMHO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. How about in yours? So looks like it was not implemented in the official and not just me.
2. I set atmos to auto so i guess it automatically set it for games, movies, and music, etc. But no option for games only. It is in Sounds and Vibration>Advanced Sound Settings>Sound Quality and Effects
3. Ok
4. Ok to each their own. One Hand Operation + was released since June 2018 along with other Good lock Apps so its not really new. It gives us a taste of the upcoming Pie update. And as it name says, it allows you to use the left and right edges for gestures in one hand. Try to reach the nav bar and do the new default gestures with your thumb with one hand and you'll know what I mean.
call_of_ktulu25 said:
1. How about in yours? So looks like it was not implemented in the official and not just me.
2. I set atmos to auto so i guess it automatically set it for games, movies, and music, etc. But no option for games only. It is in Sounds and Vibration>Advanced Sound Settings>Sound Quality and Effects
3. Ok
4. Ok to each their own. One Hand Operation + was released since June 2018 along with other Good lock Apps so its not really new. It gives us a taste of the upcoming Pie update. And as it name says, it allows you to use the left and right edges for gestures in one hand. Try to reach the nav bar and do the new default gestures with your thumb with one hand and you'll know what I mean.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes, in the Z build I used it would stop at each app. I hated it. On CSA3 it works like in oreo.
2. I'm not sure where I read it, but there was something specific about Dolby for gaming mode being hidden off somewhere else. I didn't put much thought into it since I don't game. Could have even been in the pie thread for the 965F.
4. I do occasionally have a problem reaching that one button with my thumb in one handed mode. I've gotten used to it to be honest. The S9+ isn't the biggest device I've owned. The v20 and Nexus 6 were bigger.
That said, I can see the value in more one handed items. Choice is definitely a good thing. I'm just happy with the current implementation.
On the flip side, Samsung (and others) are always out to take more market share. I think they are seeing the error made by Apple. You can't raise prices and force unwanted changes on customers. Sticking with a more established bar / gestures would be the way I'd go. When you try to get new users, you want to give them something fairly familiar.
Just my opinion though.....
Its terrible IMO. Probably the worst implementation of Pie. Samsung went from having the best skin to the worst now.
After Factory Reset
Deal Breakers :-
1:- Recents animation is worse than 200$ phone. When u are inside an app and press or trigger recents menu. It glitches and lags like everytime. Its only smooth when u are in the homescreen.
2:- Device Care Stuck at 95% for a long time before it shows status.
3:- Launcher sometimes lags when scrolling between pages.
4:- Scrolling lag in apps like reddit and playstore. Oreo scrolling was smooth.
Lag is the major issue in pie however IMO the icons are literally the worst now too. Experience Ui icons were 100x better.
It's good. It's fixed my bluetooth latency issue.
Does anyone have problem with Samsung Cloud failing to sync?
_Usama_ said:
Its terrible IMO. Probably the worst implementation of Pie. Samsung went from having the best skin to the worst now.
After Factory Reset
Deal Breakers :-
1:- Recents animation is worse than 200$ phone. When u are inside an app and press or trigger recents menu. It glitches and lags like everytime. Its only smooth when u are in the homescreen.
2:- Device Care Stuck at 95% for a long time before it shows status.
3:- Launcher sometimes lags when scrolling between pages.
4:- Scrolling lag in apps like reddit and playstore. Oreo scrolling was smooth.
Lag is the major issue in pie however IMO the icons are literally the worst now too. Experience Ui icons were 100x better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't factory reset, but that was the most annoying the recents scrolling. Animations in almost everywhere were lagging but as the OS settled and after a few reboots, its fluid 98% of the time. But still, i missed oreo due to its fluidity and icons and quick panel icons. No issues with device care.
Plugging in charger sound/volume is annoying. Was better/more subtle on Oreo.
So far so good despite the jitters on my BT phone (Sennheiser 4.50), if I use with wires, no problems at all... of if I use with another BT phone like Anker, no problems too.
djoxie said:
Does anyone have problem with Samsung Cloud failing to sync?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That happened to me and i had to sign out of my account and back in
Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
Well... I am thinking of going back to Oreo acually..
1.Hangs, reboots
2.Stock launcher has this huge space underneath icons even with gestures on, same space thing on stock keyboard(using gboard removes it on keyboard)
3.My games dont launch like they did on Oreo
4.Notifications are messed up, constant connect/disconnect on my gear 3, even when turned of they show sometimes.
Maybe Goodlock 2019 will keep me on 9... but atm im very tempted to go back to 8.0 :/
For me, the One UI is great. But I don't like, that they removed the Audio Source in the USB-Settings.
When using DEX Pad the screen of the phone remains on until it times out and turns off. But when clicking on a text input field the screen turns on again. DEX is still missing a lot of functionality like widgets and direct dial shortcuts for example.
Video call audio issues
while onj video call in IMO the audio seems to be broken and blurry sound is heard
I love it aside from game launcher going MIA, thought it was just a beta thing but guess not
Found out it's more AT&T BS
Has anyone noticed the volume is so much quieter now? Looking for solutions. I'm not hard of hearing but I can barely hear my sounds anymore. That is a HUGE deal breaker for me, even tho there are some things I'm liking. Plus good Lock. Used that daily, multiple times a day. Now I have to remember to turn off wifi and turn on Bluetooth and vice versa multiple times a day to keep my battery in check. PITA. But that is negligible to the volume issue.
I´m pleased with OneUI... however, I really hate the fact that I cant turn of adaptive icons in Pie/OneUI. The third party apps get the worst loocking icons ever...
Manneman32 said:
I´m pleased with OneUI... however, I really hate the fact that I cant turn of adaptive icons in Pie/OneUI. The third party apps get the worst loocking icons ever...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Switched to my paid version of Nova for that reason. Plus now I have double tap to turn off the screen. Missed that feature from LG.
pre4speed said:
Switched to my paid version of Nova for that reason. Plus now I have double tap to turn off the screen. Missed that feature from LG.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed Nova Premium at first, but when I changed icontheme Nova started to randomly change size of the icons. Even if I changed it back two hours later it got a different size. Not all icons, just random ones.

How to get the old navigation gestures on 9.0?

Hi there!
My OP6 is on OOS 8.1, because when I updated to 9.0, I really didn't like the new slower gestures, so I reverted back to 8.1.
Now I feel like I'm missing some new stuff from 9.0, especially on the security side and I'd love to update, but I do not want to use any type of new gestures. Are there any ROMs, magisk modules or any other mods that would allow me to use something above 8.1 and still have the old navigation gestures?
Thanks!
EDIT: I think I used some app or something to get the old gestures on 9.0, but I remember it was really buggy and I couldn't type properly without activating the gestures. I hope there's a proper version out there.
You mean navigation bar? Back, home, recent! It's already there
Suwwan said:
You mean navigation bar? Back, home, recent! It's already there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I mean the navigation gestures. No buttons or anything. Like a simple swipe up on a side for back, swipe up from middle for home and hold for recents. No navigation pills or anything. No screen estate used.
ashirviskas said:
No, I mean the navigation gestures. No buttons or anything. Like a simple swipe up on a side for back, swipe up from middle for home and hold for recents. No navigation pills or anything. No screen estate used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, sorry i had mine upgraded to pie once i had it so its the only gestures i tried. And it's pretty good.

Getting the Backbutton to the right on Android Q

Is there a way to get the Backbutton to the right side under Android Q? Custom Navbar App dosnt work and the Tut from XDA about the ADB Comands either.
hi, I'd also like to know if there is a way to get it back on the right side.
I actually use the full gesture mode, but there is something that I would like to change :
When you open the keyboard, the button to close it is also on the left side, is there a way to get it on the right ?(probably something to do with the navbar position of the buttons)
Cheers
I've mostly adjusted to this new layout after coming from a Note 9, but I definitely miss the massive customization Sammy offered via the Good Lock app. Interested in hearing the recommended way to achieve a similar level of tweaking in vanilla Android.
I tried digging through the settings activities to see if it was in a hidden menu somewhere, but couldn't find anything. I did discover that if I freeze Pixel Launcher, I lose the System Navigation entry in the System > Gestures menu, and the app switch button stops working. Maybe the Pixel Launcher has some way of controlling the order of the buttons? Though, if it does, it's not in any of the settings.

Changing gestures and getting rid of corner Google Assistant

Quick question. I've had my phone since Monday. I'm fairly used to the gesture system available in OP6 for recent and back. OP8t throws that out the window with Google Assistant and makes back gesture from the side of the screen... In a lot of the apps I use, side swipe is used for a different function so I end up going back all the time.
Any way to change this without root? Waiting for that to be fully developed before I hop on it.
Setting >> gesture
Choose 3 buttons
deathmaker06 said:
Quick question. I've had my phone since Monday. I'm fairly used to the gesture system available in OP6 for recent and back. OP8t throws that out the window with Google Assistant and makes back gesture from the side of the screen... In a lot of the apps I use, side swipe is used for a different function so I end up going back all the time.
Any way to change this without root? Waiting for that to be fully developed before I hop on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Change to 3 buttons navigation, and use Vivid Navigation Gestures app to emulate the OP6 style gesture. In the app you can hide the stock navigation bar.
Some users are also reporting that left and right edges are not very sensible to single touches. Probably an overprotective edge rejection. The corners are affected by this, and google assistant, so if you are using gestures it can be a pain to use any buttons in that area.
Enviado desde mi KB2003 mediante Tapatalk
zellleonhart said:
Change to 3 buttons navigation, and use Vivid Navigation Gestures app to emulate the OP6 style gesture. In the app you can hide the stock navigation bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vivid NG's hide navigation bar is not working on my phone even with root permissions. Help!
Can't hide the navigation bar on Android 11 yet
KrishTej said:
Vivid NG's hide navigation bar is not working on my phone even with root permissions. Help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DaGeekWolf said:
Some users are also reporting that left and right edges are not very sensible to single touches. Probably an overprotective edge rejection. The corners are affected by this, and google assistant, so if you are using gestures it can be a pain to use any buttons in that area.
Enviado desde mi KB2003 mediante Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed this too, I thought my screen is faulty. Single touch is fine, but touch and hold doesn't work all the time. It's frustrating.
KrishTej said:
Vivid NG's hide navigation bar is not working on my phone even with root permissions. Help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry when I commented back then, I hadn't received my 8T yet. Hiding navigation bar doesn't work on Android 11 yet, so Vivid NG can't hide the nav bar now.
I used navigation gestures for awhile...many months ago. In my opinion it is like so many other "changes" on phones...zero bezels (stupid), no headphone jack (stupid), and many others...and I feel that navigation gestures are stupid also because they never seem to work the way people want them to work!!!! What is wrong with the 3 button navigation that just simply works? I went back to this method several weeks/months ago and never missed the gestures because the buttons ALWAYS work the way you expect them to work...so simple. SMH

Categories

Resources