Google gives Pixel Tablet multitasking a boost with desktop-style windowing

As with most Pixel Drops, much of the excitement around today’s feature update from Google will center on Pixel phones and smartwatches. However, the March update has a little something for Pixel Tablet owners, too. Once the Pixel Drop lands for the Android slate owners, Google will introduce Desktop Windowing on the Pixel Tablet.

Desktop Windowing is designed to give you a more familiar desktop-style interface on your tablet, letting you arrange and resize overlapping windows. That should mean less hopping in and out of full-screen apps and more flexibility when you’ve got multiple things open at once. The Pixel Tablet already supports split-screen multitasking, but this goes a step further by allowing resizable, overlapping windows rather than just two apps locked side by side.

This move fits into a broader push from Google to make Android more comfortable in work-style setups. Alongside the Pixel Tablet update, Google is also expanding a desktop-like experience when you connect a compatible Pixel phone to an external monitor via USB-C. On Pixel 8 phones and newer, you can use a mouse and keyboard to run a multi-window Android interface on a larger screen.

It would seem that Google is putting more emphasis on productivity and workflows across its devices, with the tech giant suggesting the Pixel Tablet addition will help enable “deep work.” It probably won’t be enough to convince most users to finally ditch their laptops, but we’re looking forward to giving it a try.