Information surrounding Google's next mobile operating system (OS) update remains scant, although the company itself may have accidentally leaked Android P's key feature. In a recent Android developers blog post, the search engine giant has posted a preview of the Android version's new UI, although some people were quick to notice the new navigation bar that performs a similar function with an iPhone X gesture.
As reported by 9to5Google, a new navigation bar that appears to be derived from the iPhone X's swipe-up gesture to reveal the multitasking UI has been spotted off Google's recent teaser for the Android P.
To note, Apple is not the first tech firm to introduce gesture-based navigation, as other Android-based handsets have been using swipe gestures to navigate from one page to another instead of tapping on keys.
Nevertheless, many people have found iPhone X's gestures to be useful, and the upcoming Android OS version is expected to bring the feature to other devices soon.
The Android P preview includes a pill-shaped button that resembles that from a recent Moto X5 render leak, although it is uncertain if this feature will actually function as a button. It is likely that the pill-like button will serve as an identifier to swipe the screen upwards and reveal the home page, similar to the iPhone X gesture.
On the other hand, the post also shows a possible back button control, although it is believed that this feature will only appear if a back button will be required.
After the blog post went viral on the internet, Google has taken down the Android P screenshot and replaced it with a new image that vaguely illustrates the new UI contents, although some people were able to obatin a cached copy of the original post. The screenshot was apparently edited to remove the navigation button being compared to the iPhone X gesture-based feature.
