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Android P DP1: New nav bar button enables app rotation even w/ auto-rotate disabled

Android P is full of big changes, but it also has a ton of really handy minor tweaks. One that we just found out about tonight is the ability to rotate apps, even when auto-rotate is disabled.

Currently in Android, or any mobile OS, users have to choose between their devices being able to rotate all of the time, or not at all. While it only takes a couple of seconds to head to the quick settings and change this setting as the situation calls for, in Android P, Google is making that way easier.

A new contextually aware button in the navigation bar has been added in Android P that makes auto-rotation a lot easier. Put simply, you can leave your device with auto-rotate disabled as you wish, but if you want to see a webpage or show someone a photo in landscape mode, you can easily change to that orientation with a quick press of this new button.

This new button alongside the rest of your typical navigation keys appears when your device is rotated to an orientation it’s not currently locked to. For example, if the device is locked to portrait mode and you try to rotate it to landscape, the button will appear. Pressing it locks the phone to landscape, but only while you are in that app or until you rotate the phone back to portrait and press the button.

We’re still digging through Android P to show you everything that’s new. If you want to give it a try yourself, we’ve got a handy tutorial detailing how to install it.


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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

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