Google brings a feature to Android 14 that Samsung brought in 2017

Back in 2017, Samsung introduced a feature called App Pair. It lets users create pairs of apps that should be launched together in the side-by-side split-screen multitasking mode. Now, Google is bringing the same feature natively to Android 14. This shows how well ahead Samsung is when bringing new features to Android devices.

Android 14 Beta 2 was released a couple of weeks ago. Scanning through the list of changes, Android expert Mishaal Rahman found that Google is developing a way to let users save App Pairs. Although Android has allowed users to use app pairs and keep them in the multitasking menu, they couldn't be saved and reused later after closing them. Now, Android 14 allows users to create App Pairs and save them on the home screen. So, whenever a user clicks on the saved App Pair icon, those two apps open in split-screen multitasking mode.

It has been six years since Samsung started offering App Pairs that can be saved and placed on the sidebar or the home screen. And Google is just now realizing the potential of this feature. It comes in handy, especially for those who frequently multitask by using two apps simultaneously. This would also be useful on large-screen devices like foldable phones and tablets.

While Samsung has been offering this feature for years now, it was a custom implementation on top of Android, and Google implementing it directly into Android makes the feature more optimized. It could also help Samsung as the company can now base it on the built-in App Pair feature rather than working on it on its own.