Trying to complete important tasks on a smartphone can be tricky since you usually have to keep switching between apps. Things like booking a flight, trying to make online purchases, or checking up on work can be stressful on a smartphone as a result.
Samsung Galaxy owners have a solution to this problem, and they don’t need a foldable phone to do it. With split-screen and pop-up view on Galaxy devices, you can easily use two or more apps simultaneously, which you can activate with the help of multitasking gestures.
What are multitasking gestures?
Multitasking gestures are swipes that allow you to open and use multiple apps at the same time on the best Galaxy devices. Just like you swipe up from the bottom of the screen to return to the home screen or swipe from the screen’s edge to go back, multitasking gestures are used to activate split-screen and pop view.
A split-screen view literally splits the screen in half, dividing the space between two apps. Pop-up view opens an app in a resizable floating window that can appear over an app or over two apps in split-screen mode.
These views are useful when you need to get information from one app to input into another. Instead of memorizing a credit card number or a bank account number, you can use multitasking gestures to view key information alongside a different app.
Which Galaxy smartphones can use multitasking gestures?
Multitasking gestures are available on any Galaxy device running One UI 5 — Samsung’s Android 13-based software. It’s available on the Galaxy S20 series and newer, the Galaxy Note 20 series, Z Flip 3 and newer, and Z Fold 2 and newer. Select Samsung A and M-series smartphones can also take advantage of One UI 5.
It’s important to note that multitasking gestures are only usable when One UI Home is set as the default launcher. So, Galaxy owners who run a third-party launcher can not use these multitasking gestures.
Enable multitasking gestures in the Settings app
To start using multitasking gestures on a Galaxy device, you first have to enable a few settings.
- Open the Settings app, which looks like a gear and can be found in the App Drawer.
- Scroll down to the Advanced Features tab and tap on it.
- Press the Labs menu at the top of the screen.
- Turn on the Multi-window for all apps, Swipe for pop-up view, and Swipe for split screen toggles.
You can also choose the Full screen in split screen toggle, which will hide the status and navigation bars to maximize screen space, but this is optional. If you have a phone with a smaller screen, consider enabling this setting.
Since these features are listed as “experimental” by Samsung, they may not work properly with all apps.
How to use split-screen with two or more apps
Most Samsung Galaxy smartphones can only use split-screen with two apps, but the Galaxy Z Fold’s main screen can handle more apps in split-screen mode.
- Start by opening an app as you normally would.
- Swipe up from the bottom of the screen with two fingers.
- Select an app from the recent or most-used categories.
- Alternatively, search for a specific app or open the app drawer by tapping the icons in the top-right corner of the screen.
- Adjust the proportions of each app by holding and dragging the three dots that separate the two apps.
- Tap the three dots to flip the two apps or save the split-screen layout.
How to use pop-up view with multiple apps
For apps that don’t need to take up all or half of the screen, you can open an app in a pop-up view. This opens the app in a desktop-like window that can be used simultaneously with a split-screen app group.
- Open the app you want to use in pop-up view.
- Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to enter pop-up view.
- Tap and hold the top-right corner of the window and drag to resize it.
- Tap and hold the bar at the top of the window to expand it, shrink it, close it, make it translucent, or enter split-screen view.
The process of opening an app in the pop-up view is different if you’re already using a split-screen view.
- Open the app you want to use in the pop-up view in split-screen view first.
- Tap the bar at the top of the app and select the second icon to enter pop-up view.
- Choose another app in the bottom half of a split-screen view.
When should you use multitasking gestures?
Samsung Galaxy devices are some of the best smartphones on the market when it comes to multitasking, thanks to features like split screen and pop-up view. If you find yourself constantly switching between apps on your phone often, consider using a multitasking mode.