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TL;DR
- Google’s representative posted a video highlighting trackpad and windowing gestures in Googlebook OS.
- These gestures are strikingly similar to what macOS offers, such as the three-finger-up gesture for an overview of open tasks.
- Googlebook OS also supports multiple desktops similar to macOS, with a full-screen mode hiding the taskbar.
Journalist-turned-Googler Dieter Bohn recently detailed how Googlebook OS handles app windowing in a video posted to X (as well as LinkedIn). Bohn’s video also touches upon the various gestures, and many of them seem to draw from both macOS and Windows. One of those gestures is using three or four fingers and flicking them upwards to bring up an overview of active apps. You can also hit the square-shaped key (identical to Android’s multitasking navigation button) to bring up this interface. In addition to apps optimized for Android, Googlebook OS also runs web-based interfaces as web apps.
Additionally, you can drag any open window from its title bar and drag it to the side to open it in a multitasking view. You can also drag it to the top to open it in full-screen mode. Both of these gestures are borrowed from macOS.
Wondering how windowing and apps work on Googlebook? Here’s a quick look at how I was using mine last night: editing a video, downloading another for offline viewing, and more. A dozen or so apps (Android and web) at the ready 💻💪 pic.twitter.com/SIF0ziqbJa
Googlebook OS also appears to have desktops akin to macOS, where apps can go completely full-screen, hiding the taskbar. This is ideal for games, video players, and other apps where you’d prefer minimal distraction. I say the implementation is more like macOS rather than Windows because the various desktops share the same taskbar, unlike in Windows, which limits icons for active apps to a specific desktop.
Bohn visibly uses trackpad gestures to cycle between the desktops, but we aren’t sure what they might be, since he doesn’t explicitly mention them. It would be a safe bet to say they use three fingers dragged left or right, but we expect to know better once we use the laptops. All Googlebook models, save the Acer 360º convertible, feature trackpads with haptic feedback, adding a flair to these gestures. We’ll be sure to test them out once we get our hands on the units.
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