Although smartphones have been increasing in power recently, however, the software behind it, while not stagnant, has still been largely untouched. Take Android for example, apart from various different custom UI skins, the vanilla Android OS has been featuring the same few buttons to minimize, close and relaunch apps for multitasking. But now, a recently surfaced patent from Samsung reimagines the entire functionality.
The new patent details of a new method which bears a striking resemblance to Microsoft’s Windows functions. Looking at the images provided in the patent, the iconic Windows close and minimize keys can be seen alongside a multitask function. Samsung had initially filed this patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on 16th October 2017, which has now been finally granted.
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According to the patent, the South Korean tech giant may be working on a Windows like buttons on the top corners of a smartphone. Three distinct buttons can be observed that line the round edges and serve the purpose of closing an app, minimizing it or even bring up other apps in the background. The device that carries such a feature in the patent seems like a tablet device. Meaning, that such a UI could potentially be seen in the near future on Galaxy Tab devices or other large screen products.
Currently, Samsung uses the proprietary One UI skin on its Galaxy smartphones and tablets. This was an upgrade from its TouchWiz UI. So, a future version or successor to the One UI could possibly arrive with such a feature on both smartphones and tablets. This could potentially raise the productivity on either category of gadgets and will make switching between apps much more smooth, potentially.
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(Via)
