Last month, Google launched the Pixel 9 series during the "Made by Google " event, with a wide array of features. All the new features are slowly being discovered by people who have already got their hands on these devices. One notable addition, which resembles one of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold"s best features, is now available on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
Reportedly, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold supports the app pair functionality, which has been a staple of Galaxy Z Fold devices for years. This feature allows you to save two apps running side-by-side as a pair for quick access. A shortcut for the two paired apps is created, enabling you to launch both simultaneously with a single tap, rather than having to manually create the pair again.
So, if you frequently use Chrome and Messenger side-by-side then, you can save this combination as a shortcut on your home screen, thanks to the app pair functionality. Enabling the app pair feature is fairly easy on Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
You need to head over to the recent menu when you are running two apps side-by-side. From here, you need to tap on the "Save app pair" button at the bottom of the app windows to save this combination as a shortcut.
Samsung has been offering this app pair functionality since 2017, and it does make the foldable device much more convenient to use. Microsoft also offered this feature in its Surface Duo devices back in 2020 and 2021. OnePlus Open has it too, and now, the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has joined the bandwagon.
It is nice to see a practical feature getting integrated into stock Android from custom Android skins, rather than cosmetic ones because stock Android still lacks many foldable-specific features especially compared to One UI. Android 15 itself has app pair functionality, so more foldables should gain this feature in the coming months.
Source and image: Android Authority