It\u2019s been less than a month (barely) and we\u2019re back with another Navigation Gestures update. Just like with the release of 1.18.4, the focus here is primarily on stability and performance. That doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t new features, though. We\u2019ve spent a while making sure this release is as stable as we can get it (as you can tell by the high patch-version number).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First up, here are the highlights:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve completely redesigned the gesture detector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve added a bunch of new gestures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are a couple new compatibility options to help you fine-tune Navigation Gestures for your device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can now search for specific settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sensitivity issue using Split Pill has been fixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the full list of changes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Features<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Better App-Change Detection<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First up, we\u2019ve added a setting for better app-change detection. This option makes use of Android\u2019s Usage Stats API to more reliably detect the app that\u2019s currently on-screen. Enable it by going to Settings > Experimental Settings and tapping \u201cImproved App-Change Detection.\u201d Just note that it may result in worse battery life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Complex Gestures<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are also 8 new \u201ccomplex\u201d gestures:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swipe Up & Right or Right & Up (+ long variant)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swipe Up & Left or Left & Up (+ long variant)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swipe Down & Right or Right & Down (+ long variant)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Swipe Down & Left or Left & Down (+ long variant)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These new gestures work in both normal and split pill modes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Repeat Long-Swipes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve also added an option to allow long-swipes to repeat until you lift your finger. For example, if you have a long right-swipe set to increase the display brightness, keeping your finger down will cause the brightness to continue to increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Settings Search<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This next feature should be particularly useful. As you may or may not know, Navigation Gestures has a bit of an overload of options. It can be hard to find something you\u2019re looking for when it\u2019s surrounded by dozens of other options. Well, we\u2019ve added a Settings Search feature in this version. Simply open the settings, tap the search icon in the top bar, and type in what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Behavior<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While there are plenty of new features, there are also a bunch of changes to how Navigation Gestures behaves that we\u2019ve made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clear Settings when Restoring Full Backup<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Navigation Gestures has had a Backup & Restore feature for a while now. This can be useful if you\u2019re moving over to a new phone or performing a factory reset. In this release, we\u2019ve slightly tweaked the behavior for restoring a full backup. The process will now clear all of your current settings before writing the ones from the backup. This is just to ensure that the backup properly restores. In most cases, you won\u2019t notice a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Per-App Pill Color Reliability<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the last stable release, 1.18.4, we introduced a new Experimental feature: Per-App Pill Color. In Navigation Gestures 1.20.16, we\u2019ve improved its reliability. It should now be less prone to flickering when opening apps, or when having a status bar clock showing seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Redesigned Gesture Detector<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Per-App Pill Color isn\u2019t the only thing we improved, though. We\u2019ve completely redesigned the gesture detector for the pill. The first thing you\u2019ll notice with this new detector is that the pill now moves both horizontally and vertically at the same time. This means you could start a swipe-up gesture, but change your mind and drag the pill to the right instead (of course, if you have the Right & Up complex gesture enabled, that\u2019ll execute). This new gesture detector also opened the door to the new complex gestures. Overall, the experience swiping the pill should be vastly improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pill Hiding\/Fading<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next improvement involves the pill hiding and fading behavior. We\u2019ve redesigned the logic behind these features, so they should be much more reliable and responsive. We\u2019ve also made it so you can have the pill hide and fade at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t Move Pill when Keyboard Shown<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve also fixed up the \u201cDon\u2019t Move Pill when Keyboard Shown\u201d option to work more reliably on more devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Compatibility<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since different Android devices can be so vastly different from each other, it\u2019s impossible to make an app like Navigation Gestures work properly on all of them automatically. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve added new compatibility options as time goes on. In Navigation Gestures 1.20.16, there a couple new ones to help you fine-tune Navigation Gestures for your device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Switch Apps Delay<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first new option involves the Switch Apps action. Android unfortunately doesn\u2019t have a direct method for switching to the previous app, so Navigation Gestures has to simulate a double-tap of the Recents button. We\u2019ve played around with different delays between the two simulated taps, but none have worked reliably on all devices. This option allows you set the delay between the two taps yourself. Experiment with longer and shorter delays to find what\u2019s best for your phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accessibility Event Delay<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other option also involves a delay. Navigation Gestures relies on events reported to an Accessibility Service to know when the screen content has changed. These events aren\u2019t reported every time they\u2019re generated, though. Android allows a minimum delay between events to be set. The shorter this delay is, the faster Navigation Gestures can do things like update the pill color or hide the pill. Unfortunately, a shorter delay also means worse battery life and performance. A longer delay means slower responses, but less effect on battery usage and speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luckily, Android allows this delay to be set dynamically, so we\u2019ve added an option so you can set it yourself. The default delay is 500ms, but if you want the best performance, you can set it as low as 100ms. If you\u2019re trying to save battery, it can be set all the way up to 2000ms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cut-Off Volume Dialog<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Android Pie redesigned the volume dialog, moving it to the side of the display. Because of this, when using a fullscreen app in landscape on Pie, the volume dialog will be partially offscreen. There\u2019s a new compatibility option which will temporarily show the navigation bar when the volume dialog is on-screen under thee specific conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bugs\/Miscellaneous<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aside from everything mentioned above, there are quite a few bug fixes and miscellaneous changes that should improve your experience using Navigation Gestures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crash Fixes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being a low-level personalization app, Navigation Gestures has its fair share of crashes. Since 1.18.4, we\u2019ve fixed quite a few crashes, and the overall experience should be much more stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Performance Improvements<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Again, with how much Navigation Gestures has to do in the background, there are quite a few times when Navigation Gestures freezes up, especially on older or lower-end devices. A lot of work has gone into performance for this release, fixing quite a few instances where Navigation Gestures stops responding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hide Pill when Keyboard Shown<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At some point, we broke this option. Well, now it\u2019s fixed, and should work reliably again in 1.20.16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sensitivity<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the development and testing process between the release of 1.15.10 and 1.18.4, the gesture sensitivity was decreased greatly when the pill was aligned to the bottom of the screen. It could be worked around by enabling Full Overscan, but not all devices are compatible with that option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a lot of investigation, we found the reason behind this issue, and it should be fixed now. If you had turned on Full Overscan in 1.18.4, you can disable it if you want to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miscellaneous<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make sure the Show NavBar with Keyboard option is disabled when Overlay NavBar is on<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make sure holding the pill to show the navigation bar while screen pinning is active actually works<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fix up some animations<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So that\u2019s it. As promised, there\u2019s a whole bunch of new stuff: features, behavior changes, bug fixes\u2026. what more could you want?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s been less than a month (barely) and we\u2019re back with another Navigation Gestures update. Just like with the release of 1.18.4, the focus here is primarily on stability and performance. That doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t new features, though. We\u2019ve spent a while making sure this release is as stable as we can get it … Continue reading “Navigation Gestures 1.20.16 released with even more bug fixes and features”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[213],"class_list":["post-232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-systems-and-procedures","tag-navigation-gestures-1-20-16"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232\/revisions\/233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}