Android Q Beta 5 will tweak gesture nav w/ ‘peeking’ app navigation drawers

Ben Schoon | Jul 2 2019 - 1:30 pm PT

Android Q has a surprising number of additions hidden within, and one of the biggest is the new gesture navigation system. Today, a Googler has confirmed that in Android Q Beta 5, gesture nav will be tweaked again to better support app navigation drawers.

Immediately following their debut, it was obvious that Google’s latest take on navigation gestures had their benefits, but they also effectively broke most Android apps by ruining the navigation drawer. Swiping to access the drawer instead triggered the back gesture. Clearly, that required a fix, and in the next beta update, that’s what is coming.

Chris Banes, a Googler involved with Android Developer Relations, tweeted today about how navigation drawer behavior will be changing to suit the new gesture system. Instead of simply swiping to access the drawer, a press to “peek” the drawer will allow it to be swiped. It’s a less fluid motion for certain, but since it doesn’t require developer interaction, it works on all apps including those using the “old” DrawerLayout versions.

While this change doesn’t exactly “perfect” Google’s latest take on gestures, it’s a step in the right direction. Navigation drawers were one of the biggest complaints with this gesture system, and this change makes things much easier for those who will be using Android Q, and makes more sense than swiping at an angle. You can see the new behavior in action in the tweet below.

🚧 The drawer behavior is changing. Users will be able to open the drawer by peeking the drawer, and then swiping. Big benefit is that this works with existing apps with "old" DrawerLayout versions. pic.twitter.com/WVyOzQFzHO

— Chris Banes (@chrisbanes) July 2, 2019